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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Russia To Spend More On Its Space Program

Moscow (UPI) May 23, 2005

The Russian Ministry for Economic Development and Trade has endorsed a draft space plan for 2006-2015 that calls for a significant increasing in spending.
The Itar-Tass news agency said the proposed space program includes building the Kliper manned shuttle spacecraft, completion of the Russian segment of the International Space Station, and launch of a research craft to Phobos, moon.

Also up for funding is expansion of the Global Navigation Satellite System, or GLONASS, which is based on active satellites that continuously transmit coded signals on two frequency bands to pinpoint position and velocity on Earth in real time, the agency said.

Anatoly Perminov, head of Roskosmos, was quoted by Itar-Tass in April as saying 305 billion rubles or $11 billion will be needed to implement the space program for 2006-2015.

In April, the Duma's committee for i! ndustry, construction and high technologies recommended no less than 24.4 billion rubles or $900 million for the program in next year's federal budget.

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For a country that was once the Soviet Union, they seem to be pumping a lot of cash into their program.

U.S.....take heed.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

The Russian government Thursday announced approval of a 10-year space program budget

That budget will include funding for development of a reusable spacecraft to replace Russia's aging Soyuz manned launch vehicle, the BBC reported.

Russian officials say they also want to start experiments testing whether it's possible for humans to make the flight to Mars. Under that plan, six volunteers will spend 500 days in a mock space module in Moscow. The BBC said more than 20 volunteers have already applied to take part in the experiment.

Russia has been struggling to finance the International Space Station in the absence of the U.S. space shuttle fleet. The Soyuz became responsible for all trips to and from the space station following the Columbia shuttle disaster in 2003.

Although the new Russian 10-year space budget will total about $10.5 million (300 billion roubles), it is less than what the United States spends annually on its space program.

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I hope they don't fall solely into the Shuttle-like program.