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Russia to raise space funding 13%, build new space center

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Russia will increase funding for space projects by 13% and start the construction of a new space center this year, a first deputy prime minister said on Monday.
MOSCOW, January 21 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will increase funding for space projects by 13% and start the construction of a new space center this year, a first deputy prime minister said on Monday.

Speaking at a Cabinet meeting with the president, Sergei Ivanov said the funding increase does not include military programs.

"With the increase in the funds, concrete development programs in the sector should be considered in terms of their efficiency," he said.

Ivanov, who oversees Russia's military-industrial complex, said a national Security Council session in the first half of 2008 will outline prospects for space industry development up to 2020.

He said particular attention will be paid to Glonass (Global Navigation Satellite System), the Russian equivalent of the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), which is designed for both military and civilian use, and allows users to identify their positions in real time.

"The year 2008 will be a landmark year for the development of the space industry," Ivanov said.

He said the construction of a new space center in Russia's Far East must start this year.

On November 6, the Russian president signed a decree on the construction of a new space center, to be named Vostochny, in the Amur Region.

Ivanov earlier said the center's completion could take about 10 years. The first spacecraft is planned to be launched from Vostochny in 2015, and by 2018 manned spacecraft are to be launched from the new space center.

Russia currently uses two sites for launches of carrier rockets to orbit spacecraft, and for ballistic missiles tests: the Baikonur space center in the Central Asian Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Plesetsk space center in northern Russia.

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