Putin Orders Expedited Building of New Russian Spaceport

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday ordered that construction be sped up on a multi-billion-dollar spaceport in Russia's Far East, which he said would break reliance on the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and launch future missions to the Moon and Mars. Putin flew in a helicopter over the sprawling building site in Vostochny at a time when conflict with Ukraine, maker of Zenit and Dnepr rockets, is highlighting the fragility of Russia's dependence on former Soviet...

© La Voix de l'Amérique - mardi 2 septembre 2014