Cosmonauts can be launched from the cosmodrome to fly to the Chinese space station
Saint-Petersburg. June 16. INTERFAX-The launch of manned spacecraft from the Kourou cosmodrome in French Guiana will require a significant modernization of the infrastructure, it may take several years, adviser to the General Director of Roscosmos Sergey Krikalev told Interfax.
"I think a few years. Because it is not so difficult to redo a start for a manned one, in principle, but there must be a project, there must be money, a contract, and so on. How long it will take, two years or six or seven years, will depend on how strong the interest will be, " Krikalev told the agency on the sidelines of the GLEX-2021 conference.
He noted that the modernization of the launch complex for Soyuz rockets at the cosmodrome will require a large modernization, in particular, the creation of an emergency rescue system and infrastructure that provides manned launches.
On the eve of the head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, said that the state corporation is negotiating the modernization of the Kourou cosmodrome for launching manned spacecraft, in particular, to the Chinese space station.
"My French colleagues and I are also discussing the possibility of transforming the Soyuz-2 launch complex, which is located in Guiana, within the framework of a large lunar project, so that it can be used for a manned program, including for launching ships in the direction of the Chinese station," Rogozin said.
