"It is necessary to take our own station into orbit to carry out tasks that are impossible in the framework of international cooperation on the ISS," he said in an interview published in Izvestiya on Friday.

"We have made headway. A core unit remains at the Khrunichev Space Center, the Energiya Rocket and Space Corporation has components of the control module," he said. Financing for building new modules could be organized, he said.

"Nevertheless, in the present situation it is much more important to preserve what is. I mean the orbital grouping of satellites that guarantee communications, television broadcasting, weather forecasting, traffic control and the prospecting of natural resources," Senkevich said.

He named the absence of funding among the key obstacles to the development of the Russian space program. "Russia spends two-thirds less on space than China. We are the last among the top ten space powers in this respect," he said.

Copyright 2001 Interfax. All rights reserved. The material on this page is provided by Interfax and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Related Links
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only