Things to come Khrunichev Enterprise in Moscow, the company that developed the Proton, hopes to introduce even more dramatic changes in their powerhouse booster. The development of the cryogenic stage, initiated by Khrunichev in 1980s, had been stalled for years by Russia's financial problems. The work, however, has recently moved forward, spurred in part due to commercial deals with India, which has eyed similar technology for its own space-launch system. KB Salyut representatives said that the Proton's cryogenic stage would hold 18 tons of propellant, compared to 12 tons carried by the stage developed for the Indian government. With the new cryogenic stage, the enhanced Proton rocket will be able to compete with the Ariane 5 rocket , the most advanced European launcher, despite the geographical disadvantage plaguing Russian launches from higher-latitude Kazakhstan compared to Ariane's launch site near the equator in French Guinea.
Equatorial launches get an added boost due to Earth's rotation.
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