Belarusian cosmonaut may perform first space flight in 2023, says Putin

The first space flight by a Belarusian cosmonaut may be organized already next year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a press conference after talks with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko at the Vostochny spaceport in the Far East on Tuesday.

“A law will be adopted soon that will allow Belarusian citizens and companies to operate on the premises of the Tsiolkovsky closed administrative territorial entity in the Amur Region – here where we are now located,” Putin said.

“The issue of delivering a Belarusian cosmonaut into orbit was also discussed. This flight may take place already next year,” the Russian leader said.

Both leaders also reached agreement at their talks to keep encouraging bilateral cooperation in the space sphere, Putin added.

“In particular, to step up the creation of the space-based Earth’s remote sensing system. This relates to optoelectronic high-resolution video surveillance satellites that will become a key element of the integrated system being established in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) for the production and provision of space and geo-information products,” the Russian leader said.

Drawing Belarusian specialists into the construction of space infrastructure on Russian territory, in particular, at the Vostochny spaceport, is yet another promising area of space cooperation between Russia and Belarus, Putin said.

TASS