Blow for new cosmodrome as officials say first manned launch is still a decade away, Siberian Times “A 2007 presidential decree had set 2018 as this target date for manned launched and it was echoed in repeated statements from officials until recently. It was reported that Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin and the head of the Russian Space Agency Igor Komarov managed to persuade Vladimir Putin to adjust the date […]

$126 Million Stolen From Russian Vostochny Cosmodrome Project Prosecutor General, The Moscow Times “Russia’s Prosecutor General said Monday that 7.5 billion rubles ($126 million) had been stolen during construction of a new spaceport in Russia’s Far East, news agency RIA Novosti reported. Investigators conducted a massive investigation into corruption and mismanagement at the site of the Vostochny Cosmodrome, a $3 billion project seen in Moscow as vital to secure Russia’s […]

Russia Delays First Manned Launch From New Spaceport to 2023, Moscow Times “The first launch of a manned spacecraft from Russia’s troubled new Vostochny Cosmodrome is slated for 2023, at least three years later than originally planned, the head of the Roscosmos federal space agency, Igor Komarov, said Friday, news agency RIA Novosti reported. Vostochny is a $3 billion spaceport under construction in the Amur region of Russia’s Far East. […]