The draft agreement on modernization of Gagarin's Start on the Baikonur Cosmodrome concluded between Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation and UAE is under domestic approval, according to Marat Nurguzhin, the Deputy Minister for Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry. Site No. 1, or Gagarin's Start, is a launchpad where the first humanity’s spacecraft Vostok with cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on board was launched on April 12, 1961.
“The draft agreement has been developed and is now being considered by Russia, Kazakhstan and the Emirates. As soon as the draft agreement is approved, we’ll proceed to signing. At the moment the procedure of domestic approval is under way”, Nurguzhin announced to reporters on Wednesday answering the question about the future of the trilateral agreement on Gagarin's Start modernization.
Earlier Dmitry Rogozin, the Head of Roscosmos, said that Kazakhstan, Russia and the Emirates would have signed the trilateral agreement on upgrade of Gagarin's Start on Baikonur by the end of the current year.
According to him, upgrade of Launchpad No.1 on the Baikonur Cosmodrome were to commence in 2020. Negotiations on contract conclusion between the countries were planned to be finished in the first half of November.
After the launch of the last Soyuz-FG rocket on September 25 Gagarin's Start was shut down.
In early June the Russian Direct Investment Fund and UAE investors signed the agreement with Roscosmos on investment of $90 mln for upgrade of Gagarin's Start.
Source - Interfax-Military News Agency
