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The Sputnik satellite and the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin, made their first steps in the Cosmos from Baikonur, in Kazahstan. To date, the Baikonur launch site is still the one that the Russian space program mainly uses.
Despite all this history behind Baikonur, Kazakhstan has chosen the US company SpaceX for its latest satellite launch, the KazistiSat, instead of a Russian-made rocket.
According to the Russian website Interfax, SpaceX was chosen to provide the payload because it is cheaper. Nevertheless, Aset Nurenov, press officer of the Ministry of Defense and Aerospace Industry, said the total cost is confidential, at the request of the launch supplier.
Needless to say, this partnership brings a very interesting dynamic to the space rocket game between SpaceX and Russia, since SpaceX has become more attractive for satellite missions, mainly because of cost reduction but also because rockets have proved more reliable.
The Kazakh satellite will not be launched until November 19 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
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