The Cabinet of Ministers of the Russian Federation approved a draft agreement to begin testing the Baiterek complex

Flight tests of the Baiterek space rocket complex (a joint project of Russia and Kazakhstan) with the Soyuz-5 launch vehicle will begin in 2025. This follows from the draft agreement approved by the Russian government. Document was published on the official portal of legal information.

According to the text of the agreement, both parties—Kazakhstan and Russia— pledged to begin flight testing. By 2027, at least three Soyuz-5 launches should be carried out from Baiterek. Preliminarily, the first of them is scheduled for December 2025, the second for October 2026, and the third for October 2027.

“Baiterek” is a Russian-Kazakh project to create a structure for launching spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome using environmentally friendly launch vehicles to replace the Proton rocket, which uses toxic fuel components. Since 2017, the Baiterek project has been refocused on the Soyuz-5 launch vehicle.

Deputy General Director of the Progress Rocket and Space Center (Roscosmos structure) Daniil Subbotin reportedthat the Soyuz-5 launch vehicle will be ready for launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at the end of 2025.

Evgeny Belousov