KIEV, Sept. 29 – Ukrainian Yuzhnoye design bureau and Yuzmash (both in Dnipropetrovsk) have signed a contract with the US Orbital Science Corp. for the development and production of the first stage of the Taurus light launch vehicle to deliver cargos to the International Space Station (ISS), Yuriy Moshnenko, the head of information communications center in Yuzhnoye design bureau, has told Interfax-Ukraine.

According to the contract, the Ukrainian side will develop and produce the first stage of the launch vehicle, and the U.S. side is responsible for the second stage, the launch complex and the project marketing.