(Associated Press via NewsEdge) Kazakhstan sent its first satellite into space as part of the oil-rich ex-Soviet republic's first step toward fulfilling its ambitions to join the elite club of space-exploring nations.
The KazSat 1 satellite, mounted on a Russian built Proton-K rocket, soared into the pre-dawn skies above the Baikonur cosmodrome in the middle of the harsh Kazakh steppe, watched by President Nursultan Nazarbayev and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
The geostationary satellite is designed to provide TV broadcast and communications for Kazakhstan, part of Russia and three other Central Asia nations, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan.
After the rocket's fiery tail disappeared into the sky, turning pink before dawn, the two leaders left in a car without making comments.
The satellite, built by Russia's Khrunichev design center and reported to be worth $100 million, was initially scheduled for December 2005 but was postponed due to technical problems.
'Everything went according to plan and it gives us hope that the work of the first Kazakh satellite will be successful as well,' said Igor Panarin, a Russian space agency spokesman. 'It is a victory for both Russia and Kazakhstan.'
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