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Putin says officials involved in spaceport building could face jail time after failed launch Putin on failed launch: Those found guilty of spaceport building negligence may face jail
(35 minutes later)
Russia's President Vladimir Putin says those responsible for crimes during the construction of the Vostochny Cosmodrome won’t escape responsibility if their guilt is proven, and will swap house arrest for prison bunks.Russia's President Vladimir Putin says those responsible for crimes during the construction of the Vostochny Cosmodrome won’t escape responsibility if their guilt is proven, and will swap house arrest for prison bunks.
"Six criminal cases had to be launched, in which four people were arrested. Two of them, however, are under house arrest, while the other two are in pre-trial detention,” Putin is cited as saying by Interfax."Six criminal cases had to be launched, in which four people were arrested. Two of them, however, are under house arrest, while the other two are in pre-trial detention,” Putin is cited as saying by Interfax.
“But if their guilt of the suspected of crimes is proven, they’ll have to swap their warm beds at home for prison bunks," he added.“But if their guilt of the suspected of crimes is proven, they’ll have to swap their warm beds at home for prison bunks," he added.
Criminal investigations into alleged embezzlement and other forms of corruption tied to Vostochny are currently underway. Putin arrived at Vostochny for its first launch, which was scheduled to take place at 5:01am Moscow time (02:01GMT) on Wednesday.
The building of Vostochny faced a number of delays, partially due to mismanagement of the project, as some of the jobs were sub-contracted to unreliable companies. At one point workers at the site held a strike after salaries were not paid on time. However, automatic systems canceled the launch of a Soyuz-2.1a space rocket less than two minutes before the liftoff.
The work at the cosmodrome is continuing as additional launch pads are being constructed. The total cost of the project is estimated at around $2.7 billion. During its peak the process involved up to 8,000 workers and 1,000 heavy duty vehicles. The president later said “the malfunction, as far as I understand, is not due to the condition of the cosmodrome, but to the rocket itself."
The current roadmap says the cosmodrome should have up to 10 launches annually in the next several years. The first manned mission to the International Space Station is expected to be launched from Vostochny after 2023. "I want to hear how the post-launch analysis is being carried out. Without any doubt, conclusions will have to be made," he added.
DETAILS TO FOLLOW The construction of the Vostochny Cosmodrome began in 2012, with the site to become the maiden Russian cosmodrome for civilian purposes.
The first launch at Vostochny was expected in 2015, but was postponed to April 2016 due to mismanagement of the project and poor performance by subcontractors.
At some point during construction, the workers at the site had to go on strike after salaries were delayed.
Criminal investigations into alleged embezzlement and other corruption-related crimes were launched against those involved in the construction of the cosmodrome.
Putin decided to stay at the Vostochny Cosmodrome until a meeting of the government commission on Thursday morning, which is to set a new launch date.
“If the commission opts for staging another launch attempt Thursday morning, Putin will be present at the launch site to witness the event," Dmitry Peskov, presidential press secretary, said.
Earlier, Putin examined the launch site, saying that despite construction problems "in general, the cosmodrome was built in line with standards."