In the Svobodnensky District of the Amur Region, the construction of one of the most important objects of the space industry, the Vostochny cosmodrome, continues. This week the stage of bringing power lines to the cosmodrome under construction was completed. The connection goes through the modernized Ledyanaya substation, which provides electricity not only directly to the construction site, but also to numerous infrastructure facilities that are directly related to the construction of Vostochny. Due to the fact that the capacity of the said substation may be sufficient only for the construction stage of the cosmodrome, in the future it is planned to use a more powerful (productive) substation "Amurskaya" for the operation of "Vostochny" with its vast complex, consisting of two launch sites, an airfield, automobile and railway tracks and two special factories.
If the work is carried out without significant disruptions, then by the fall of 2014, the installation of special equipment will begin at the launch complex. In other words, the "skeleton" of the cosmodrome should be ready in about six months, after which in 13-14 months the cosmodrome will be, as they say, brought to mind (well, or to perfection) by installing hardware systems that ensure the effectiveness of space launches. The first space launch from one of the Vostochny sites is scheduled for around December 2015.
However, according to the estimates of government officials in charge of the construction of the cosmodrome in the Amur Region (Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin is in charge of supervising activities), there are not enough technical specialists and workers employed at Vostochny facilities to implement the plans. Dmitry Rogozin says that if today no more than 5,300 people are involved in the implementation of the project, then about 15,000 builders, engineers and other qualified specialists are needed to complete the tasks in the specified period of time.
It should be noted that the further the work on the construction of the cosmodrome in the Far East of Russia progresses, the less the voices of skeptics are heard about why, they say, Russia needs all this. If at the initial design stage a number of specialists, many of whom had and are directly related to space programs of different years, wondered about the expediency of building Vostochny in connection with the presence of Baikonur, today the opinion of these people has significantly changed. I don’t want to look for some artificial parallels and even indirectly cast a shadow on our Kazakh friends, but, burnt in milk, begins, as they say, pragmatically to blow on the water.
Russia leases Baikonur from Kazakhstan. This is undeniably great. The Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan are in the Customs Union, constantly strengthening cooperation, building close relations with Belarus within the framework of the future Eurasian Economic Union. However, some tectonic processes in the political life of other neighboring states make it possible to think about the fact that, in any tightness of partnership, one's shirt is still closer to the body. There is no need to look for any pitfalls in relations with Astana, you just need to understand that a state like Russia should have its own high-quality and modern platform for the implementation of the most ambitious space projects. And this site is designated - the Vostochny cosmodrome. The choice, as you know, fell on this territory due to the fact that it is not densely populated, and also due to the fact that the local latitudes will allow manned and unmanned vehicles to be launched into space with economic benefits (in comparison with at least much more northern "Plesetsk").
What will become of Baikonur, if Russia is really realizing its own project in the Far East in the near future? There are two opinions on this, and the most interesting thing is that they are diametrically opposed.
Opinion one: the Baikonur cosmodrome will, let's say, gradually fade away, since today it requires serious modernization, which the Kazakhstani side wants to carry out in a 50/50 mode with Russian colleagues. The Russian colleagues declare that at this stage they pay rent for the operation of the Baikonur site, and Astana should directly carry out modernization measures. If neither Russia, nor Kazakhstan, nor any other country with certain space ambitions will invest in Baikonur, then the future of this famous cosmodrome may be really vague.
Second opinion: the construction of the Vostochny cosmodrome, on the contrary, may become an impetus for the development of Baikonur and investment in it within the framework of quite healthy competition. Will Russia need two practically equivalent cosmodromes (we are talking about Vostochny and Baikonur)? Now it is impossible to give an unambiguous answer to this question, but if Russia really begins to embody ambitious space programs in reality, then there will certainly be a place for Baikonur among them. As the saying goes, one quality site is good, but two are better. In addition, a third party may well be interested in Baikonur. And if this interest does not contradict the interests of Kazakhstan, then "Baikonur" can eventually turn into a real international project, in the plus from the implementation of which will be the economy of Kazakhstan as well.
The main thing is that the construction of Vostochny does not turn into an object of a kind of bargaining between Moscow and Astana. Healthy competition is an excellent option, groundless confrontation and an attempt to bargain something from each other is not a good future for states that today are in close and constructive cooperation.
