The country’s federal space agency /Roskosmos/ published a state programme “Russia’s Space Activities for 2013–2020.” The document outlines major tasks of deployment and support of the orbital group, increase of satellites of civil and double purposes, and an increase of the share of rocket and space products in the world market to 16 percent by 2020. The programme’s financing will make about 2.1 trillion roubles, including off-budget resources.
The Kommersant’s sources say that the new state programme will allow Roskosmos to start working on a new federal space programme for 2016–2025.
The newspaper says that major objectives include deployment and support of the orbital groups of Russian apparatuses of scientific and social-economic purposes /including the Russian segment of the International Space Station/; modernisation of Plisetsk and Baikonur space launching sites, construction of Vostochny spaceport; as well as provision of conditions for expanding services, which use results of the space activities.
The main task the state programme faces is organisation of space systems of scientific and social-economic purposes for realistic use in the interests of consumers. The state programme should result in Angara-A5 space rocket complex, construction of the first /2015/ and second /2018/ phases of Vostochny space launching site. The programme plans that by 2015 Russia’s 95 space apparatuses will be in the space, and by 2020 the number will make 113. The programme pays separate attention to development of the GLONASS: by 2015 the system’s accuracy in location of an object should reach 1.4 metres, and by 2020 – about 0.6 metres. As for the fundamental research, the programme includes organisation of three space observatories /Spektr-UF, Spektr-M and Gamma-400/, as well as missions of the Luna-Glob orbital apparatus, and of landing apparatuses of the Luna-Resurs class.
By bigger investments, the authority promises to return to this country its status of a leading space country, which has been failed by a series of accidents and much-spoken-about corruption scandals, the Novye Izvestia reports. In order to achieve the target, the country plans organisation of a manned station in the Moon. At the same time, due to the poor conditions of the space sector, financing only would not guarantee meeting of the ambitious tasks, the newspaper said.
“Investments in the space are growing, while there is still not a single conviction under the recent high-profile ‘space’ corruption cases,” the newspaper quotes Director of the Centre for analysis of international trade of weapons Igor Korotchenko as saying.
He said everything in the sector ended up in dismissals, though it was already high time to demonstrate criminal responsibility in action. “Thus, effectiveness of using the funds allocated for the state space programme is up in the air,” the expert said.
The Novye Izvestia writes that in autumn former General Designer of the Russian Space Systems Yuri Urlichich was dismissed as the police announced they had revealed the company stole 6.5 billion roubles during design of the GLONASS navigation system. The newspaper says it is still unclear as to who and how will be building space apparatuses, which are expected to appear in the space.
For example, back in November, in Samara investigators opened a criminal case against Deputy Chief Designer of the Volzhskoye Design Bureau of the Energia rocket and space corporation. He is suspected of organising illegal production of spare parts for the Defence Ministry and for Roskosmos. In order to bring the situation in the sector to order, Head of Roskosmos Vladimir Popovkin promised to replace management of certain enterprises. However, the Novye Izvestia reports, things haven't got forward an inch as yet.