After Russian spaceport firm fails to pay bills, electric company turns the lights off
One of Russia's most important projects over the last 15 years has been the construction of the Vostochny spaceport as the country seeks to fly its rockets from native soil and modernize its launch operations.
However, the initiative has been a fiasco from the start. After construction began in 2011, the project was beset by hunger strikes, claims of unpaid workers, and the theft of $126 million. Additionally, a man driving a diamond-encrusted Mercedes was arrested after embezzling $75,000. Five years ago, there was another purge of top officials after another round of corruption.
Through it all, there has been some progress. In 2016, a Soyuz-2 rocket launched from the first pad, 1S." And eight years later, a second pad, 1A," opened with a successful Angara rocket launch. Eventually, the Russian space corporation, Roscosmos, would like to operate seven launch pads at the Vostochny in the far eastern area of Russia, so development work continues.