IPFS News Link • Space Travel and Exploration
Russia Building New $800-Million-Dollar Spaceport for Commercial Space Industry
• Clay Dillow via PopSci
But the cosmodrome is just a start for Russia's new space ambitions. The U.S.'s old space rival plans to nurture its own private space industry while at the same time building state-owned next-gen deep space launch vehicles and crew capsules. The cosmodrome will augment the development of private industry, the space agency's deputy chief says, because it will ensure the stability of the Russian space industry by centering it on Russian soil.
The first launch will take place as soon as the facility is completed in 2015, with its first manned flight slated for 2018.