Posted on 11/11/2005 4:36:38 AM PST by mym
Russia's space industry is set for a hefty hike in funding. In 2006, its budget will balloon to $690 million and Russia will share fifth or sixth place with India in the global financial league table (after the U.S., the EU, Japan and China). According to Anatoly Perminov, the head of the Federal Space Agency, the new trend will continue into the future.
In 2004, Russia launched two spacecraft more than in 2003, for a total of 23 launches, or 42.6% of the worldwide number. The U.S. accounted for 29.6%, China, 14.8%, the EU, 5.6% and India, 1.9%.
Even if the Americans had not grounded their space shuttles, Russia would still be leading the world. Big contracts concluded with Brazil, France and India confirmed its competitiveness.
The world now has 770 spacecraft, with 424 owned by the U.S. Russia comes in second with 98, of which 35 are used for economic purposes, 55 cater to the Defense Ministry and many have dual capabilities. One craft works for science.
Proton rockets are responsible for 35% of all Russian launches. The Dnepr, Zenit and Tsiklon each account for one or two launches a year. Efforts continue to upgrade the Proton and develop a new series of Angara rockets powered by ecologically clean fuel. The Angara-5, which is going to be the most powerful of all, will outperform the Proton and, unlike the Proton, could lift off not from Baikonur, but from the Plesetsk space center in Northern Russia. New Tsiklon and Zenit modifications are also being developed.
The 2005 Zhukovsky air and space show featured a reusable Russian space vehicle, the Kliper, being designed by the Russian space company Energia. The Russian shuttle will carry a crew of six. It will be much more spacious than the Soyuz craft, provide a normal living environment and can be used for lunar expeditions or those on Mars
Space ping. Interesting info with concrete numbers and models.
Good post. While I'm loath to trust the figures in the articlee, I think it is beyond dipute that they have been outperforming in space.
Our budget is near twenty times that and we're lucky to get anything off the ground. However, NASA still does well in the areas Congress doesn't micromanage.
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