Russia Offers Support for Uzbekistan’s First Cosmonaut and Satellite Launch

Russia is ready to help Uzbekistan prepare and send its first national cosmonaut into orbit and launch its first artificial satellite, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov was quoted as saying by TASS. Manturov noted that Uzbekistan has set an ambitious goal of entering space exploration. “At the end of last year, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev outlined the task of preparing and sending the country’s first national cosmonaut into near-Earth orbit and launching its first artificial satellite,” he said. “As a strategic partner of Uzbekistan, we welcome these plans and are ready to use all our extensive experience and expertise to help implement them,” Manturov added. He also said Russia is currently engaged in preliminary discussions with several countries across the Commonwealth of Independent States, as well as in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, on training astronauts and developing communication and Earth observation satellites. Russia has made similar offers to other Central Asian states. A few days earlier, Russia’s ambassador to Turkmenistan, Ivan Volynkin, said Moscow would support the training of a cosmonaut from Turkmenistan if Ashgabat expressed interest. His comments were published on the embassy’s official Telegram channel during an event marking the 65th anniversary of the first human spaceflight. Volynkin also highlighted the achievements of Oleg Kononenko, a native of Turkmenabat, who holds the record for the longest cumulative time spent in space, exceeding 1,100 days. He currently heads the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. According to the ambassador, cooperation between Russia and Turkmenistan in the space sector could also include satellite production, launch services, navigation technologies, and joint scientific research.