Kazakhstan’s seizure of Russian space assets threatens the Soyuz-5 rocket

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Kazakhstan’s seizure of Russian space assets threatens the Soyuz-5 rocket

Russia has spent nearly $1 billion on the development of the new Soyuz-5 rocket.

Quote

The Soviet Union created the Baikonur Cosmodrome in 1955 to serve as a test site for intercontinental ballistic missiles. A few years later it became the world's first spaceport with the launch of the historic Sputnik 1 and Vostok 1 missions. The sprawling cosmodrome was a mainstay of the Soviet space program.

After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia leased the spaceport from the government of Kazakhstan and currently has an agreement to use the facilities through the year 2050. Russia pays an annual lease fee of about $100 million. Neither country is particularly happy with the relationship; the Kazakh government feels like it is under-compensated, and the Russian government would like it to be in its own country, which is why it has moved in recent years to build a new launch site for most of its rockets in the Far East of Russia, at Vostochny.

Read More: Ars Technica

 

[+and-then]

Putin's Ukrainian adventure is causing him headaches far beyond the battlefield.  Once an order is destabilized, there isn't any way to know how it will look once the smoke clears.  I never imagined I'd see a day when a sovereign government would be scrambling to compete with civilian industries in space.  That's a wonderful thing, IMO.

[Unusual Tournament]

7 minutes ago, and-then said:

Putin's Ukrainian adventure is causing him headaches far beyond the battlefield.  Once an order is destabilized, there isn't any way to know how it will look once the smoke clears.  I never imagined I'd see a day when a sovereign government would be scrambling to compete with civilian industries in space.  That's a wonderful thing, IMO.

Space X and Rocket Labs are doing great guns. 

[Unusual Tournament]

4 hours ago, Waspie_Dwarf said:

Kazakhstan’s seizure of Russian space assets threatens the Soyuz-5 rocket

Russia has spent nearly $1 billion on the development of the new Soyuz-5 rocket.

 

…anyone wanna guess where the next Russian military adventure is headed too?

[Waspie_Dwarf]

8 minutes ago, Unusual Tournament said:

…anyone wanna guess where the next Russian military adventure is headed too?

I rather suspect that Kazakhstan is safe for now.

Russia is not likely to enter into a second war when it is losing so many troops in a first. Calling up even more civilians to fight would be hugely unpopular and moving troops away from Ukraine would be tactical suicide.

Also Baikonur Cosmodrome is some 3,000 km from Russia and located in an inhospitable desert steppe. Taking it, holding it and maintaining a supply chain to it would be a nightmare. It's far more likely that Russia will cough up the money Kazakhstan says it owes, or at least finds some sort of compromise.

It's also worth pointing out that it is in the west's interest that Russia gets this sorted out. All Russian missions to the ISS are launched from Baikonur. No Russian participation = no ISS.

[Unusual Tournament]

3 hours ago, Waspie_Dwarf said:

I rather suspect that Kazakhstan is safe for now.

Russia is not likely to enter into a second war when it is losing so many troops in a first. Calling up even more civilians to fight would be hugely unpopular and moving troops away from Ukraine would be tactical suicide.

Also Baikonur Cosmodrome is some 3,000 km from Russia and located in an inhospitable desert steppe. Taking it, holding it and maintaining a supply chain to it would be a nightmare. It's far more likely that Russia will cough up the money Kazakhstan says it owes, or at least finds some sort of compromise.

It's also worth pointing out that it is in the west's interest that Russia gets this sorted out. All Russian missions to the ISS are launched from Baikonur. No Russian participation = no ISS.

Good points. Thou I still think we haven’t seen the end to Putin’s expansionist policy. We’ve seen it in Syria to a lesser degree also. 
 

I think Kazakhstan has a 20% Russian minority. I guess a lot will depend on America and China.

 

 

[Alchopwn]

9 hours ago, Waspie_Dwarf said:

Russia is not likely to enter into a second war when it is losing so many troops in a first.

I am surprised that other Russian neighbors haven't been more interested in starting wars with Russia while it is both weak and over committed to a war it cannot win.