The earlier quota of 20 Proton launches is already running out. Seven launches are left of which two will take place in 2000, he said.

Head of the Russian Space Agency, Yuri Koptev, wants the quota abolished completely, Gorbunov said. NASA Chief Administrator Daniel Goldin shares this opinion as to many aerospace firms in the United States, including Lockheed Martin, which is trying to expand its cooperation with the Khrunichev center on Proton launches.

However, the U.S. State Department has not yet extended the current document on quotas to next year, Gorbunov said.

A CIA statement reported in the western media that Russian companies and scientific institutes last year continued to sell missile technology to Iran and that this would have a negative impact on Russian-American relations, including attempts to increase Proton launch quotas, is purely political in nature, Rosaviakosmos believes.

Russian is not selling missile technology to Iran, Gorbunov said. Attempts that were at one point made by separate organizations were intersected at an official state level, he said.

World demand for satellite launch services is estimated at 30-34 launches per annum, for which the Russian Proton type launcher is required.

The quota issue must be settled now because the entire cycle from signing contracts, different document procedures and launch preparation is 1.5-2 years, Rosaviakosmos points out.

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