Azerbaidzhan to Select Manufacturer of the Launcher for National Satellite in the Second Half of 2010. Khrunichev Space Center was Invited to Take Part in the Tender
:: 18.04.2010
Manufacturer of the launcher which is intended to loft the first national satellite of Azerbaidzhan will be selected in the second half of 2010, Azerbaidzhan’s Minister of Communications and Informational Technologies Ali Abbasov told news media. According to Abbasov, the main criterion of selection is launcher’s reliability. Earlier, the Ministry of Communications and Informational Technologies invited Roscosmos’ Khrunichev Space Center, manufacturer of the Proton launcher, to take part in the tender. Khrunichev competitors are Ukranian Yuzhnoe with Zenith carrier, and ESA’s developers of Ariane rocket. Experts predict Russia and Ukraine to become the main contenders. Modular design of the Azerbaidzhanian satellite is similar to Intelsat-15 launched recently by Zenith. On the other hand, Proton is more reliable, though more expensive than Zenith. Furthermore, Yuzhnoe suffer from lacking the launchers.
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