France to pay Russia $1 billion for 14 Soyuz carrier rockets | Top Russian news and analysis online | ‘RIA Novosti’ newswire: “France has put aside some $1 billion to buy 14 Soyuz carrier rockets from Russia, French satellite launch firm Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall said Tuesday.
‘We have ordered 14 Soyuzes from the Russian Federation; the contract’s cost is about $1 billion. These are ambitious plans,’ Le Gall said at a Russian-French business forum, held as part of President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to France. His speech was broadcast by the Rossiya 24 TV channel.
The new deal marks another step in cooperation between Russia and France in the space sector. Arianespace signed a contact with Russia’s space agency in 2008 for the launch of 10 Russian Soyuz-ST carrier rockets from the Kourou space center in French Guiana.”