KYIV. Feb 10 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Poland sees a serious potential of partnership with Ukraine in the space area, and one of the most promising directions of cooperation in the new conditions could be the joint creation of space and rocket technologies, President of the Polish Space Agency (POLSA) Marek Banaszkiewicz has said.
At a meeting of the working group for the use of outer space of the intergovernmental Ukrainian-Polish commission for economic cooperation held in Kyiv, the POLSA head pointed at the creation of Earth remote sensing satellites as one of the promising direction of partnership.
“Ukraine and Poland have interesting practices in the area of Earth remote sensing data processing, but we’re also interested in the technology of creating spacecrafts of this kind, taking into account Ukraine’s achievements in the creation of Earth remote sensing satellites,” the press service of the State Space Agency of Ukraine reported, citing Banaszkiewicz.
He expressed confidence that uniting experience and Ukraine’s potential with the opportunities and knowledge of Poland in the space area has a serious competitive market potential.
KYIV. Feb 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) – U.S.-based Orbital ATK, the world’s leader in aerospace and defense industries, has signed an eight-year contract worth about $1.5 billion with NASA to implement from 2019 six commercial cargo flights to the International Space Station (ISS) using Antares carrier rockets created and produced in cooperation with Ukraine.
According to an official report from the company, within the framework of the contract signed after a tender, Orbital ATK for cargo flights to the ISS in addition to upgraded Antares carrier rockets could also use Atlas-5 carrier rockets of United Launch Alliance (the United States).
In addition, the contract includes an option for the execution in 2021-2024 of additional cargo flights “on the basis of operational requirements for the ISS.” The amount of the option is not specified.
According to a contract worth $1.9 billion between NASA and Orbital Science Corp., signed in 2008, the U.S. company should by the end of 2016 provide eight regular cargo flights to the ISS using Antares carrier rockets and the Cygnus spacecraft built in cooperation with Thales Alenia Space and deliver goods with a total weight of 20 tonnes. Ukraine’s Pivdenne design bureau and Pivdenmash (Dnipropetrovsk) in the framework of a long-term contract (up to 2019), signed with Orbital Science Corp. in 2008, provided the development and manufacture of the first stage of the Antares carrier rocket.
KYIV. Feb 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine at the beginning of August 2016 will launch new technical regulations for some goods, packed by weight and volume, developed in the framework of bringing the legislation in compliance with EU requirements.
This is stipulated in Cabinet resolution No. 1193 of December 16, 2015, published in the Uriadovy Kurier newspaper, which determines that the technical regulations come into force after six months from the date of publication.
The technical regulations concern goods, having a mass of at least 5 g (or ml) and not more than 10 kg (or liter). Products are considered to be packed if they are placed in packaging of any origin in the absence of a buyer, and the amount of goods indicated on the packaging cannot be changed without opening or damaging the package.
The government established that packaged goods, which were put into circulation or have been in the market for less than two years before the entry into force of the new technical regulations, are not subject to the restrictions and prohibitions in connection with the non-compliance with the requirements.
KYIV. Feb 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Lauffer Group plans to launch over 12 new outlets of own retail chain in Kharkiv and 20 in Odesa in 2016, and total investment will reach UAH 14 million.
The company said in a press release on Monday that this year the existing facilities of the branded outlets under the Saltovsky trademark in Kharkiv will be reconstructed and investment will total over UAH 4 million.
Head of Retail Business at Lauffer Group Oleksandr Moshurovsky said that new Zefir stores in Odesa and Kharkiv sell a wide range of food (up to 800 items).
In 2015, around UAH 4.25 million was invested in opening of shops: nine in Odesa, five in Kharkiv and 12 in Dnipropetrovsk. Investment into one shop was from UAH 250,000 to UAH 400,000.
Lauffer is one of the largest Ukrainian business groups in the sector of processing agricultural products and food production, which has been operating in Ukraine for 14 years. It includes about 100 enterprises specializing in production of flour, bakery goods, fat, canned food and so on.
KYIV. Feb 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Ukrainian state concern Ukroboronprom are satisfied with new agreements reached with Germany’s Deutz AG to supply engines for new Ukrainian armored vehicles: a batch of DEUTZ BF 4M 1013 FC 190 hp engines will be shipped by German partners to Ukraine at the special price, the press service of the concern reported on Monday.
According to the report, after complicated and long negotiations between Ukroboronprom and Deutz AG the sides reached an agreement to supply a batch of engines at the price that allows Ukraine to save around UAH 25 million (EUR 862,000, the official NBU’s exchange rate as of February 8 UAH 29.0277/EUR 1). Other details of the contract are not disclosed.
The press service said that these engines will be installed on BTR-3, BTR-4 and armored vehicles Dozor-B.
KYIV. Feb 8 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s Minister of Infrastructure Andriy Pyvovarsky expects that the full commercial operation of a new container train on the so-called New Silk Road will start in March, he said this in the parliament during “an hour of questions to the government.”
Pyvovarsky noted the train should come back to Ukraine by the end of February. Then “all logistically weak points” will be worked on, a relevant regulatory document will be signed, which will make it possible to run the train in commercial use.
“A final protocol will be signed in Baku somewhere on February 20, which will settle all the technical problems, bottlenecks, and we can say that from March the train will start running as usual,” the minister said.
According to him, the main operator of this route will be Lisky transport service center (part of PJSC Ukrzaliznytsia). The company must do everything possible to make the route commercially successful.
