Posted: Tue, Apr 6, 2004, 9:27 PM ET (0127 GMT)
A Russian policy that forbids the launch of foreign military satellites on Russian vehicles could make it more difficult to commercially launch some military spacecraft, Space News reported this week. The long standing, but not widely known, policy requires launch providers to obtain permission from the Russian government to launch a foreign military satellite on a Russian launch vehicle. The policy could cause problems for Koreasat 5, a communications satellite partially owned by the South Korean military, and the two Skynet 5 communications satellites for the British military. Both are examples of greater public-private partnerships in space ventures, and both planned to commercially procure launches, using the highly-competitive nature of the launch market today to bring down launch prices. Blanket exemptions already exist for Soyuz launches planned for French Guiana, as well as the Atlas 5, which uses a Russian main engine.

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