The launch complex for Russian Soyuz rockets at the Kourou cosmodrome in French Guiana may be mothballed forever, said Dmitry Rogozin, director general of Roscosmos.
“He can be mothballed forever. Why do we need it there? Why do we need a partner (European Space Agency. — RBC), which is so unreliable,” Rogozin said (quote from Interfax).
All Roscosmos specialists left the Kourou cosmodrome
On February 26, Roskosmos decided to suspend cooperation with European partners in organizing space launches from the Kourou cosmodrome and withdraw its technical personnel, including the consolidated launch crew, in response to sanctions imposed by the European Union against Russia. On March 3, the last 56 employees left the spaceport.
The Russian-European Soyuz project was launched at the Guiana Space Center near the city of Kourou in 2003. The construction of the launch complex for the Soyuz-ST launch vehicle was completed in 2011. It was handed over to the European Space Agency and the spaceport operator, Arianespace.
