100 help plan
The Baikonur Cosmodrome, the world's largest cosmodrome, is facing aging and maintenance problems, reflecting the potential for Russia's space ambitions to unravel.
The Baikonur cosmodrome is located in Kazakhstan, a country that is increasingly in the spotlight for its complex relations with Russia. While Kazakhstan remains close to its longtime ally Moscow, it is also building ties with countries such as the European Union to diversify its economic and political ties.
Russia's space agency Roscosmos has not publicly responded to the partnership with Kazakhstan. However, the head of Roscosmos, Yury Borisov, has said that the Russian space industry is competitive in almost all areas of space development, and there are many countries that want to cooperate with Russia.
One of the main problems facing Russia in the space sphere is the launch schedule of the Soyuz-5 rocket. The rocket is designed to launch the most profitable low-Earth orbit in the latest space economy. Affected by the events in Crimea in 2014 and the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2022, the development of the SOYUZ-5 has lagged significantly behind the original plan.
In addition, Russia is trying to move more launches to its new cosmodrome, the Vostochny Cosmodrome, near China's northeastern border, which was supposed to be the main base for the new Angara rocket family. However, both the cosmodrome and the rocket project were behind schedule.
Kazakhstan said it is ready to expand cooperation with the Central Asian region, the CIS, the Organization of Turkic States, the UN and other international organizations in the field of space, as well as its readiness to cooperate with Russia and China. In addition, Kazakhstan has already started using Elon Musk's Starlink satellite constellation to provide internet access to rural areas, and in October 2022 signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Turkish Defense Industry Agency to jointly develop satellites.
With Russia's stagnation in space technology innovation, as well as the various challenges facing Roscosmos, Kazakhstan may be wise to look for a new space partner.