Troops are being withdrawn from Baikonur, a spaceport in the Central Asian Republic of Kazakhstan, in line with Defense Ministry and space agency plans.
"The last military unit will leave the Baikonur space center at the end of 2007," Anatoly Perminov said.
Lt. Gen. Vladimir Popovkin, commander of the Russian Space Forces, said earlier that troops would remain at Baikonur "only as long as is necessary for the performance of military duties."
Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said a federal program for the development of Russian space centers over the next decade would require spending of about 27.32 billion rubles (about $1 billion).
The program will prioritize construction of launch facilities at the Plesetsk Space Center for the Angara-A5 heavy carrier rocket, being developed by the Khrunichev State Space Scientific Production Center. The new launch facilities, which account for 80%-90% of budget funds, will enable Russia to stop using the Baikonur and Svobodny Space Centers for military and national security purposes in the future, he said.
After this, all defense-related spacecraft will be launched only from the Plesetsk spaceport in Northern Russia.
Ivanov said the installations and facilities currently leased by the Russian military in Baikonur will be transferred to the space agency and the Baikonur city administration.
