MILLEDGEVILLE — Aficionados of the Russian space program perked up last week when the news broke that Russia plans to step up its commitment to build a brand new space port and launch site.

The Russian space program began, of course, as the Soviet space program, that impossibly large conglomerate of Eastern European and Northern Asian states that functioned under the communist administration of the Soviet Union. Way back then, the decision was made to situate the official launch site for the super power in the remote steppes of Kazakhstan — a large flat wasteland, in the public eye, with few inhabitants and very little else going on. And thus the Baikonur Cosmodrome was established. The bulk of the Soviet space missions were launched from this location.

Unlike the United States, the Soviet Union did not have access to an ice-free ocean year-round, and its very Southern regions are completely land locked.

Remember, when you launch a rocket you want to launch it from as close to the equator as possible to make the most use out of the Earth’s natural rotation, which gives you that extra free boost into orbit. And so the Soviet Union has always launched its space missions over land. Pretty empty land, to be sure, but you do what you have to if you want to get into space.

After the Soviet Union disbanded, Kazakhstan ended up with the launch site, and absolutely no funds to run it, so Russia — one of the few former Soviet states with monetary muscle — was forced to rent the place from its southern neighbor.

Kazakhstan, of course, had Russia over a barrel that way — if they wanted to use the facility they had to pay though the nose, and it certainly has helped to keep the otherwise barren country afloat. Add to that the fact that after the big breakup the two former sister states had less than amenable relationships, and you will understand why Russia has been itching to have their own space port ever since.

Imagine having to rent launch space from, say, Honduras every time you want to launch a shuttle! Political unrest, potential terrorism and economic bleed-out would be quite an issue here, too, and Russia was facing this with every launch.

But soon no more. Some $800 million have been set aside to begin construction of a new launch complex, in the far Eastern region of Russia, at Vostochny (meaning “Eastern” in Russian) which is near the Russian-Chinese border and was formerly called Svobodny.

As before, the Russians will still have to launch over a bit of land, and it’s still not as far south as one would want, and there’s the new neighbors in China with their very own successful space program — the plot thickens. But any misgivings anyone might have pale against the fact that Russia will have its very own cosmodrome to do with as they please.

No more paying up those steep rental fees, no more having to be nice so you can launch a rocket, no more financial drain into another country, fewer security concerns, access 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year — what’s not to love?

I imagine the folks in Kazakhstan are pretty bummed about this development. One major source of income gone, and you don’t have the big country at your mercy again. Kazakhstan lacks the resources to run a space program of its own, so unless other commercial clients from all over the world are interested, there’s a good chance that Baikonur will simply cease to operate.

That would be a shame, since countless historic missions began there, and a good number of American astronauts rode into orbit at Baikonur, as did the first few commercial space tourists.

Vostochny, on the other hand, will get a major shot in the arm, economically speaking, because it’s not just the space program that will move there — all the support personnel and their families will, too. This means entire new towns, a whole new infrastructure and a new area of industrial development for far Eastern Russia.

Of course, the $800 million represent a mere fraction of the money needed to make Vostochny a functioning space port, but the Russians are determined to get it going by 2015. Along with the new space port they are also working on new booster rockets and spacecraft to replace the venerable Soyuz technology.

In Russia everyone is keeping their fingers crossed that the plans will work out and the new cosmodrome will be built.

I imagine in Kazakhstan the mood is a lot more somber.

Find out more at http://www.russianspaceweb.com/svobodny.html

Beate Czogalla is the associate professor of theater design in the Department of Music and Theater at Georgia College & State University. She has had a lifelong interest in space exploration and has been a solar system ambassador for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory/ NASA for many years. She can be reached at our_space2@yahoo.com