MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russia intends to take at least 21% of space services market by 2015 as part of a development strategy approved by the Cabinet Thursday, the nation's top space official said.

The world space services market is estimated at about $20 billion today and Russia has a share of about 11%, said Anatoly Perminov, the head of the Federal Space Agency.

"The strategy is based on the ambition to create high-tech industry that will produce competitive high-tech products on the global market," Perminov said.

Opening a government meeting on space strategy Thursday, Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov said the country was a leader in the space sector but had to apply more effort to maintain its advantages.

Perminov said that Russia's rocket and space industry had the potential to accomplish the goal, but added huge efforts would be needed to increase competitiveness. Only 41% of Russian space equipment is up to international standards, a government source said Wednesday.

Perminov said another goal was to diversify space products and increase the share of civil space products, which is now about 20%. "We hope to make it 30% by 2010," Perminov said.

The official also said that this goal would encourage development of other industries.

"We have calculated that one ruble invested in the space industry makes 29 rubles in other sectors," he said.

Perminov said other priorities of the space industry's development were space exploration, where Russia planned to consolidate its positions by 2015, and higher quantity and quality of defense products in the rocket industry.

The government source said Wednesday that three or four integrated structures would be formed in Russia's space sector by 2015 to cover 60% of all Russian space enterprises.

The source also said that the share of new industrial equipment at Russian space companies would be raised from 3% to 33-35% by 2015 in accordance with the strategy.