Russia suspends Ukrainian JV for nuclear missile conversion

SS-18 Satan Missile

Russia suspends Ukrainian JV: Russia’s Federal Space Agency today (February 2) announced that it was suspending  the JV it had set up with its Ukrainian counterparts  to convert  Soviet-era nuclear missiles into rockets for use in the launch of  commercial satellites. The rockets started life as SS-18 Satan missiles and were being converted into space launch vehicles at the Yuzhmash factory in the Ukrainian town of Dnipropetrovsk. The rehabilitated rockets were being sold internationally – mainly for commercial and scientific use – by the Moscow-based Kosmotras International Space Company. The future of the JV had been in doubt ever since Russia annexed Crimea last year. The Moscow Times