"Unfolding such an infrastructure on the Russian cosmodromes deems impossible in the near future", Roskosmos deputy chief Victor Remishevski told the CIS committee of the Federation Council (upper chamber of Russian parliament) at a sitting.
Remishevski said that it is unrealistic even neglecting the economic side. "Russia's geography makes the orbiting of spacecraft less efficient than from the southern latitudes. Competing on the world market of such services is very hard", he said.
Simultaneously, Russia is working on a complex giving it independent access to any orbits, Remishevski noted. "Such work is under way in Plesetsk (Russia's northernmost cosmodrome) in the interests, above all, of defense and security", he said.
Remishevski also said that the lease of Baikonur is advantageous to Russia because it pays only the rent and is not making deductions to Kazakhstan from the commercial profits.
He also said that Kazakhstan has adopted a program for the development of space rocketry activities in 2005-2007. "The program is ambitious and will cost 375 million dollars, over 300 of which will go to Russian enterprises", Remishevski said.
Deputy head of the CIS committee Andrei Ischuk told journalists that, at a nearest session, the upper chamber will consider the law on the ratification of the agreement with Kazakhstan on developing cooperation in Baikonur.
This agreement intends prolongation of Russia's lease of Baikonur until 2050.
Baikonur is going to have a promising environmentally-friendly space complex, Baiterek, on the basis of the Russian space rocketry complex Angara.
According to Victor Remishevski, over the last ten years about 70 percent of the Russian spacecraft launches have been madefrom Baikonur. The proportion will be preserved, he said.
