Kazakh President Signs Law Re Baiterek Rocket Center

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has signed a law on the ratification of the Russian-Kazakh intergovernmental agreement on the Baiterek rocket center at Baikonur, a source in the presidential press service said on Friday and reported by Itar-Tass.

The agreement was signed last December. The Baiterek joint venture between Kazakhstan and Russia will implement the project. Kazakhstan will give a $225 million loan to the joint venture for the period of 19 years.

The project stipulates launches of Russia?s Angara rockets, which can carry 26 tonnes of payload to low orbits and 4.5 tonnes of payload to geo-stationary orbits.

Meanwhile, Proton heavy rockets can deliver 20 tonnes of payload to low orbits. The RD-191 engine of the Angara uses a liquid mixture of kerosene and oxygen and is environmentally friendly. The project will be implemented by early 2009.

Copyright 2005 by Space Daily, Distributed United Press International