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22:15, 22.11.2007 | Far East Russia

Russia will start manned launches from the new cosmodrome Vostochny in the Far East Amur Region from2018, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Wednesday.

"The decision is final -- the president signed a decree on November 6 on building a new cosmodrome, which will be located in the Amur Region. It's called Vostochny," Ivanov was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying.
The construction will take place ten years. Design and experimental works will last two years. The first launches are due by the year 2015. "By 2018, we'll provide for launches under manned spacecraft programs," he said.
The new cosmodrome will be built near Uglegorsk, where the Svobodny military cosmodrome is located. Five satellites have been launched from Svobodny. The launch pad was created 11 years ago, on the basis of the missile regiment which was deployed in the Amur region.
The last launch took place in April 2006, when a Start-1 booster brought Israel's Eros-1B satellite to an Earth orbit. In February 2007, the country's leadership decided on shutting down Svobodny.
According to Ivanov, the construction of the new cosmodrome will contribute to the diversification of the Russian economy and help create new science intensive productions in the Far East. In effect, the new cosmodrome will require a new town and new infrastructure.
The cosmodrome will make both civil and dual purpose launches. At the same time Russia did not intend to stop cooperation with Kazakhstan at the Baikonur cosmodrome which Russia had been leasing from the former Soviet republic. The launch of spacecraft from Baikonur under the International Space Station program will be continued.

-Xinhua