MOSCOW. Nov 13 (Interfax-AVN) - The Soyuz rocket will be modernized and the infrastructure for Soyuz launches from the Plesetsk spaceport will be ready in 2004, Director of the Russian Aviation and Space Agency Yuri Koptev told the press after a government meeting on Thursday.
He said Soyuz rockets would be modernized, in particular for launches from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. Russia and France signed an agreement on the matter several days ago.
The Russian Aviation and Space Agency and the European Space Agency will soon sign another two agreements for Soyuz launches from Kourou, Koptev said.
He noted that the Soyuz-Kourou agreements with France and the European Space Agency had had a positive effect on signing contracts for the launches of foreign commercial satellites from the Baikonur spaceport.
"We have signed five contracts on commercial launches from Baikonur within the past month, and a telecom satellite for Israel will be launched from Baikonur in December," Koptev said.
Next year, the Russian Aviation and Space Agency "will continue close cooperation with the Defense Ministry in designing fundamental elements of aerospace machinery," he said. The work will be done in line with a ten-year armament program.