The bell may be tolling for a long-standing Russian-Kazakh space program following the launch of a \u201cnanosatellite\u201d jointly developed by Kazakhstan and China and launched into orbit by a Chinese rocket.<\/p>\n
The launch of the Dier-5 spacecraft on December 13 placed the satellite into an orbit roughly 330 miles above Earth, according to a Kazakh government statement<\/a>. It took a team of specialists from Kazakhstan\u2019s Al-Farabi University and Northeastern Polytechnical University in Xi\u2019an, China, just a little over one year to develop the satellite, which will carry out scientific experiments, the statement added.<\/p>\n Kazakh officials touted the satellite as cost-effective and reliable for gathering and transmitting data.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis collaborative work opens up new opportunities for space research, training qualified specialists, and developing joint satellites,\u201d the government statement noted. \u201cIn addition, the project provides the possibility of remote sensing of Earth using a microsatellite.\u201d<\/p>\n Not only did the launch mark a milestone for Kazakhstan\u2019s space program, it also gave a boost to Chinese efforts to capture a larger share of the commercial satellite launch market. The Dier 5 craft has a\u00a0payload\u00a0capacity<\/a>\u00a0estimated at about 660 lbs.<\/p>\n Some observers see the Kazakh-Chinese initiative as a tacit vote of no-confidence in a more than two-decade-long Kazakh-Russian venture, dubbed\u00a0Baiterek<\/a>, to develop Kazakhstan\u2019s space program. Baiterek involves the adaptation of Kazakhstan\u2019s Baikonur Cosmodrome to accommodate a new low-cost rocket design, the Soyuz-5.\u00a0<\/p>\n The rocket, designed by Roscosmos, the Russian state space agency, has faced lengthy production delays. Originally intended to compete with\u00a0SpaceX\u00a0Falcon 9<\/a>\u00a0rocket in the commercial satellite launch market, some experts now wonder whether the Soyuz-5 will be effectively obsolete before one ever gets off the ground.<\/p>\n In October, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov assured that the Soyuz-5 was in its \u201cfinal\u00a0phase<\/a>\u201d of development. A month later, during a visit by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Moscow, Russian officials indicated that a Soyuz-5 would be ready to launch before the end of year. With just days left in 2025, there is no sign of a launch taking place.<\/p>\n As part of the Tokayev visit, Kazakh and Russian officials signed a\u00a0protocol<\/a>\u00a0intended to infuse fresh momentum into the Baiterek program. But the Chinese launch makes it clear that Astana is hedging its bets.<\/p>\n Russia\u2019s share of the launch market has steadily declined since the start of the 21st century. In 2005, Russia led\u00a0the\u00a0world<\/a>\u00a0with 26 orbital launches, commanding a nearly 50 percent share of the global total that year. A decade later, the overall number of launches increased dramatically around the world, while the number of Russian launches remained comparatively stagnant, resulting in\u00a0a\u00a0drop<\/a>\u00a0of its share of the market to 33 percent.\u00a0<\/p>\n This year, Russia\u2019s share\u00a0has\u00a0cratered<\/a>, comprising under 5 percent of 312 total launches. The United States now enjoys a 57 percent share of the market.<\/p>\n