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Author
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Topic: Cutbacks curtail Roscosmos plans for 2016-25
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 12-29-2015 02:49 PM
   
Practically all of Russia's projects related to crewed flights to the moon have been omitted in an updated version of the nation's federal space program for the years 2016 through 2025, TASS reports, citing a document obtained by the newspaper Izvestia. "As it follows from the text of the draft program, which Roscosmos has submitted to the government for review, a decision was taken to sacrifice the lunar program that was named a strategic goal for future development of Russian space research," the newspaper said."Compared with the version of the program, which Roscosmos presented in April 2015, the creation of a lunar landing/takeoff complex, a lunar orbital station, construction of a lunar base, the designing of a spacesuit for operations on the Moon, and designing of a system for robotic maintenance on the moon have been removed from the list of financed programs," it said. However, work continues on [the Crew Transportation Spacecraft] spaceship that might make flights to the moon in the future. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 01-21-2016 04:34 PM
Russia will spend 30 percent less on its space program in the next decade and scale back a slew of projects to save money in the face of tanking oil prices and a falling ruble, Reuters reports, citing a plan presented by Roscosmos. According to the blueprint, presented to Russian media by Igor Komarov, head of space agency Roscosmos, the space program budget for 2016-2025 will be cut to 1.4 trillion rubles ($17.36 billion), down from 2 trillion rubles.That means plans to launch a manned flight to the moon will be pushed back five years — to 2035 from 2030 — and that development of a reusable space rocket meant to be built by 2025 will, for now, be abandoned. "Russia is certain to implement this project, but at the moment the launch of a booster rocket with a reusable first stage is not economically viable," local media cited Komarov as saying. He did not elaborate. A Roscosmos spokesman told Reuters the agency would return to the matter after 2025. ...a new cosmodrome currently under construction in the country's Far East will also suffer under the slimmed down program. It will now get only one launch pad instead of the two originally planned. |
mode1charlie
Member Posts: 1169
From: Honolulu, HI
Registered: Sep 2010
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posted 01-22-2016 01:18 AM
Not unexpected, given current oil prices. But still - wow. That hurts. |
dom
Member Posts: 855
From:
Registered: Aug 2001
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posted 01-22-2016 05:53 AM
This is all eerily similar to the decline of the Soviet space budget towards the end of the Gorbachev era. The money is there but is being prioritised towards other things — the military, the spying apparatus and Putin's crony slush fund. The space programme isn't one of Putin's ways of showing the supposed "glory of Russia" to the outside world. The ISS is probably an embarrassment to him because it shows that Russia is only one of many and not able to do much on its own these days.  |
SkyMan1958
Member Posts: 867
From: CA.
Registered: Jan 2011
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posted 01-22-2016 09:42 AM
It's interesting to me that even if Russia had kept Roscosmos fully funded, its total budget for a decade would have been comparable to roughly 1.5 years of NASA's budget. Given Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), obviously the Russians would get more bang for their buck than the US, but nowhere near enough to make up the difference. Using The Economist's Big Mac Index, which shows the Ruble to be roughly 70% undervalued, that would show the Russians to be spending roughly 1/4 the amount the US is over the coming decade when adjusted for PPP (1.7 * 1.5 years = 2.55 years). As it now stands, the full spending on Roscosmos for the upcoming decade when adjusted for PPP will be roughly 1.7 years of funding for NASA. | |
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