Kazakhstan needs $300 million annually to catch up with Russia, the USA and China in space exploration

Kazakhstan needs up to $300 million annually to successfully develop its space industry, a Tengrinews.kz journalist reports, citing Talgat Mussabayev, Head of KazKosmos National Space Agency, as saying in the country’s Majilis (lower chamber) today.

“For a space power, the amount needed to finance the space industry is quite modest, I would say. If the space industry gets $200-300 million dollars a year, in a decade Kazakhstan will be in the ranks of Russia, the USA, China in terms of its space exploration efforts. I am pretty confident (…)”, Mr. Mussabayev said when presenting his Agency’s development plans.

According to him, only around $16.4 million is needed to have state-of-the-art laboratories built and fully equipped.

“To have technology transferred and foreign expertise, there is a need for close cooperation of local and foreign scientists. To facilitate visits of foreign scientists, we need to make sure laboratories are not antediluvian”, he said.