Russia is working on designing a satellite for Kazakhstan, and invites Uzbekistan to cooperate, Roscosmos representative in Kazakhstan Anatoly Krasnikov told TASS on Saturday.

Krasnikov stated that the cooperation would be profitable to all three countries, adding that the spacecraft will replace the currently functioning KazSat-2 satellite. "The new satellite will be called KazSat-2R, and it will be a much more modern and powerful device. It should enter the orbit in 2023, so that the replacement of the spacecraft would go smoothly without any disruptions in Kazakhstan’s network," the Roscosmos representative explained.

According to him, the decision on the potential trilateral cooperation "largely depends on Kazakhstan’s side". "Currently, we are at the stage of pre-design works, so that we could understand what the configuration of this spacecraft should be like, what the project should be like specifically, and who will participate in it," Krasnikov said.

Currently, Kazakhstan is considering proposals from leading European, Asian, US and Russian space industry enterprises on this project.

Source:
http://tass.com/science/1031343