First Rocket Launch From Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome Will Not Be Insured

The first rocket launch from Russia’s new Vostochny Cosmodrome will not be insured, the general director of the corporation responsible for creating the Ais and Lomonosov satellites said Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – A Soyuz-1A carrier rocket is planned for the spring of 2016 and will be the first launch from the Vostochny Cosmodrome.

“The launch will be uninsured. The only thing that is insured is [possible] damage to third parties in case the carrier rocket crashes. We believe the Soyuz rocket carrier is reliable,” Leonid Makridenko told journalists.

The Vostochny Cosmodrome, located in Russia's Far Eastern Amur Region, is expected to reduce Russia's dependency on the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan. Baikonur is on lease to Russia until 2050.