VOSTOCHNY COSMODROME /Amur Region/, April 12. /TASS/. Russia will consistently implement all of its mapped-out space exploration plans despite outside pressure, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said at a ceremony of giving state awards to Russian cosmonauts at the Vostochny spaceport on Tuesday.
"The generation of the creators of domestic space rocketry passed over to us not only huge technological potential but also those values that we follow today," the Russian leader pointed out.
"Our ancestors’ aspiration to move forward serves as a behest for us. We will necessarily implement all mapped-out plans consistently and persistently, despite any difficulties and some attempts from outside to impede us in this movement," Putin stressed.
Russia intends to continue work on creating a next-generation transportation spacecraft and space nuclear technologies and the country has accumulated substantial potential and has "a perfectly clear advantage," the Russian leader stressed.
‘We will resume the lunar program. I am talking about the launch of the Luna-25 automatic robotized probe from the Vostochny spaceport," Putin explained.
"I would like to stress that we need to respond successfully to challenges in space exploration so that here, on Earth, we can solve more effectively national development tasks, strengthen our security and technological sovereignty, create advanced technologies in robotics, microelectronics, ecology, medicine, new power engineering and also navigation and communications," the head of state added.
As the Russian leader pointed out, "the potential of space information technologies must be tapped at a new level to further introduce digital services in all sectors of the economy, state governance, education, healthcare and people’s everyday life."
"For this purpose, we intend to expand the quantitative and qualitative potential of our satellite cluster substantially under the Sfera program," Putin pointed out.
Cooperation with Belarus in outer space
Speaking about the Earth’s remote sensing, Putin said that Russia had commenced a large-scale project for producing and launching special satellites "and for this purpose, Russia has integrated its scientific and industrial potential with leading Belarusian enterprises that have been renowned since the Soviet period for their competences in the manufacture of hi-tech equipment, complex optoelectronic and radio-technical systems."
"Another important and landmark area of our interaction will be the joint creation of infrastructure that will guarantee the Union State an independent access to outer space. Workers and specialists of Belarusian companies and enterprises will shortly get an opportunity to participate in developing the town of Tsiolkovsky and the Vostochny spaceport," Putin elaborated.
The relevant amendments have already been approved by the State Duma (the lower house of Russia’s parliament) and "the Federation Council [the upper house] will pass its decision soon, following which, naturally, a new law will be signed," the Russian leader said.