Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Kazakhstan Impounds Property of Roscosmos Subsidiary
https://thediplomat.com/2023/03/kazakhstan-impounds-property-of-roscosmos-subsidiary/Kazakhstan Impounds Property of Roscosmos Subsidiary
A debt dispute sits atop a host of other political risks, inserting uncertainty into operations at the important Baikonur spaceport.
By Catherine Putz
March 16, 2023
On March 7, Kazakh media reported that the Bailiff Service of the Republic of Kazakhstan had impounded the property of TsENKI (Center for the Operation of Ground-Based Space Infrastructure), a subsidiary of Russian state-owned Roscosmos, and issued a travel ban on the company’s head in Kazakhstan.
[...]
The Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan is one of the world’s most important spaceports. The spaceport was established in 1955; since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has leased the facility from Kazakhstan. In 2005, Russia and Kazakhstan agreed on an extension of the lease to 2050 for $115 million annually, plus $50 million each year for maintenance.
In 2011, when the United States mothballed its space shuttle program, the Russian Soyuz rocket and Baikonur became the only ways to send manned missions to the International Space Station (ISS).
Russia has sought to establish a facility that could replace Baikonur, give the complexities and risks of relying on a facility physically located in a different country, but its Vostochny Cosmodrome, being constructed in the Far East, has struggled. In 2016 Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the first rocket launch at Vostochny. While test launches continue, it remains under construction and beset by financial scandals.
[...]
A debt dispute sits atop a host of other political risks, inserting uncertainty into operations at the important Baikonur spaceport.
By Catherine Putz
March 16, 2023
On March 7, Kazakh media reported that the Bailiff Service of the Republic of Kazakhstan had impounded the property of TsENKI (Center for the Operation of Ground-Based Space Infrastructure), a subsidiary of Russian state-owned Roscosmos, and issued a travel ban on the company’s head in Kazakhstan.
[...]
The Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan is one of the world’s most important spaceports. The spaceport was established in 1955; since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has leased the facility from Kazakhstan. In 2005, Russia and Kazakhstan agreed on an extension of the lease to 2050 for $115 million annually, plus $50 million each year for maintenance.
In 2011, when the United States mothballed its space shuttle program, the Russian Soyuz rocket and Baikonur became the only ways to send manned missions to the International Space Station (ISS).
Russia has sought to establish a facility that could replace Baikonur, give the complexities and risks of relying on a facility physically located in a different country, but its Vostochny Cosmodrome, being constructed in the Far East, has struggled. In 2016 Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the first rocket launch at Vostochny. While test launches continue, it remains under construction and beset by financial scandals.
[...]
