MOSCOW, April 12. /TASS/. Russia will go on building up its potential in the space industry and ten years to come will see the emergence of quite a few breakthrough technologies, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a special ceremony on the occasion of Cosmonautics Day.

"Competitive breakthrough products are to emerge in the coming ten years - advanced materials, components, new types of rockets and a manned spacecraft," he said. The Russian space program is expected to "move the country forward, to serve as a powerful incentive to the development of technologies and education and help expand knowledge about space and our planet."

"To be able to meet these challenges it is necessary to build up our own potential," he said. "Russia has gained independent access to space from its own territory by building the Vostochny spaceport. Next to it there will emerge a new city, called Tsiolkovsky, and a new technopark offering unique conditions for space research.

International cooperation in orbit

Putin emphasized the need for enhancing international cooperation in space, first and foremost in the sphere of applied and fundamental research.

"The Russian-European mission for Martian research and the International Space Station are examples of such cooperation," Putin said. "Russia today is the sole country that delivers space crews to the ISS."

Personnel potential

Putin said "the success of Russia’s space program depended on the people, so it is very important to attract generations of young researchers with a high level of knowledge and advanced competencies into efforts to address thrilling and ambitious tasks."

"Those who work in the space industry today are the veterans’ worthy successors. They seek leadership. It is in our blood to be strong," Putin said.