ASTANA. March 3 (Interfax) - The lower chamber of Kazakhstan's Parliament has approved a bill ratifying a Russian-Kazakh agreement to promote cooperation in using the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
"The main goal of this agreement is to continue developing the Baikonur center, its infrastructure, space rocket complexes and other technical facilities that make up the Baikonur Cosmodrome," Kazakh National Space Agency (Kazcosmos) head Talgat Musabayev told journalists after a session of the chamber's committee for international affairs, defense and security, which debated the document.
The agreement also envisages the creation of the Baiterek space rocket center at Baikonur, he said.
"Baiterek is under construction. It is a major project, which has been mothballed today because we have not yet taken a decision on the main issue linked to the ratification of this agreement," the Kazcosmos chief said.
The Baiterek system will make it possible to stop using Proton launch vehicles, "which carry toxic fuel components such as heptyl and amyl," and to begin using more environmentally friendly Angara rockets, he said.
The Russian-Kazakh agreement, which was signed in Astana on January 9, 2004, will now be submitted to the parliament's upper chamber, the Senate, for further consideration.
The Baiterek center is designed to handle launches of Russia's Angara rockets carrying satellites. The first such launch could take place in 2014.
The Russian-Kazakh Baikonur rent treaty, which was signed in 1994, has recently been prolonged until 2050.