Kazakhstan has launched a space program by sending a government commission to Russia\'s Khrunichev State Space Center to build the Kazakhstan\'s first telecommunications satellite. Kazakh Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov discussed the construction and launching of the satellite with Khrunichev Center Director Aleksandr Medvedev in Astana on 31 December. The project, which also includes the training of Kazakh aerospace specialists, will be financed through a state innovation fund that was set up in 2003. Since the country gained its independence, Kazakh officials have talked about using the facilities at the Russian-leased Baikonur Space Center for a Kazakh space program. (Kazinform)