MOSCOW, July 28. /TASS/. Russia’s state-run space corporation Roscosmos may assist a number of African nations in space launches, Roscosmos Director General Yury Borisov has said.
In his words, as more and more countries tend to create satellite constellations on the orbit, "the demand for space launch services is projected to be high."
"The demand is growing," Borisov continued. "The African continent’s proximity to the equator has certain benefits. That is why a number of African nations are reflecting on the possibility. We are putting forward ceratin proposals to meet this demand," Borisov said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 television.
The official said those countries are located close to the equator.
"I’m not going to name these countries <…> until we are close to concrete commitments and negotiations," Borisov added.
Earlier, the Roscosmos chief told the Russia-Africa forum that it will be premature to launch debates on a project to build a space launch facility in Africa until practical agreements are reached.
The second Russia-Africa Summit is taking place at St. Petersburg’s Expoforum on July 27-28, in parallel with economic and humanitarian forums. Similar to the first such summit in 2019, the event is being held under the rubric "For Peace, Security and Development." The event is being organized by the Roscongress Foundation. TASS is the event’s official information partner and photo-hosting agency.