"In 2014, a contract on purchasing two Tu-204-300 aircraft for the air group of the GCTC, worth 3.3 billion rubles[some $49 million at the current exchange rates]… The design of the aircraft will be special. They will be the only ones in the world," Yuri Lonchakov told reporters.
He added that configuration of the aircraft would include special cabins for cosmonauts as well as for medical personnel.
Russia's Tu-204-300 aircraft is a twin-engine airliner of high fuel efficiency and comfort level that has been fitted with modern communications systems and a noise-protected interior, according to the website of Tupolev Public Joint Stock Company, which has designed the aircraft.
Vostochny, which has been under construction since 2012, is expected to reduce Russia's dependency on the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan. Baikonur is on lease to Russia until 2050.
