Preparations of Vostochny Spaceport for first launch are going according to plan - Rogozin
GORKI. Feb 29 (Interfax) - The preparations for the first launch from Vostochny Spaceport are going according to the schedule, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said.
"We are generally going according to the schedule, Roscosmos and its specialists plan to make the necessary decisions associated with the date of the dry export of the rocket to the fire ring around March 12-14," he said on Monday on a video linkup from the spaceport during a meeting between Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and his deputies.
"It will be after March 20, when we are beginning the countdown to the rocket launch," he said.
Rogozin said the spacecraft Lomonosov will be delivered to the spaceport and its testing will begin in early March.
"As you see, we are already wearing white gowns, that is, special cleanliness standards are being observed," Rogozin said.
Speaking about the provision of housing to spaceport personnel, Rogozin said he visited several families in their service housing on Monday.
Rogozin said people are already living in two buildings and another two buildings are being prepared for people to move in.
Generally, he said that 300 apartments for specialists are now ready and 1,206 apartments will become available by the end of this year.
Rogozin said this will be enough for the entire period associated with the preparations for the first launch and subsequent types of work associated with the second stage of spaceport construction.