By Bernama
Moscow : Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday will hold a meeting of the country’s Security Council. It will focus on prospects for the development of the national space sector up to 2020 in all its aspects – ranging from manned space flights to defence security, Russia’s Itar-Tass news agency reported.
Russian First Vice Prime Minister who supervises this sector said last month that such a meeting was being prepared.
“It is planned to hold in the short run a meeting of the Russian Security Council at which foundations of the Russian space activity for the period up to 2020 will be considered,” he said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in which head of the Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) Anatoly Perminov also took part.
“We intend to consider all aspects of space activities separately: manned space flights, defence security, socio-economic aspects of space activities, scientific and all ground-based related infrastructure, including the Vostochny spaceport,” the first vice prime minister specified then.
Preparations for the meeting were underway for several months. Thus, in January Ivanov held a meeting of the Roskosmos Collegium devoted to prospects for the sector’s development.
He criticised the space agency in a number of spheres. In particular, Ivanov was discontent with the work in many directions of the creation of the GLONASS satellite navigation system, as well as with the fact that in 2007 Russia failed to carry out a number of planned launches of important spacecraft.
Ivanov urged Roskosmos to use its best practices for the development of its own technological base instead of turning into a “space cabby.”
“I consider it is extremely important to use this backlog to force the creation of science-intensive products and working out of commercial proposals and then offer consumers our own sets of services,” the official said.
“The exploration of the near-Earth space and nearest planets is not an end in itself for Russia,” Ivanov stressed.
“We simply have no right to engage in such large-scale and costly projects for no special reason, for satisfying our own ambitions and reaching some illusory goals,” he added.
Ivanov said earlier that the meeting participants will also discuss the issue of the creation of a new Russian spaceport – Vostochny in the Amur region where it is planned to build a real city, in essence. He drew particular attention to the fact that the deadline is extremely tight.
Thus, in 2016 the new spaceport must be ready for launching rocket carriers of any type and by 2018 it is planned to begin blasting off manned spacecraft from Vostochny.
The Friday meeting participants will also discuss such projects as the concept of the Moon and Mars exploration.
“At the Security Council meeting we will discuss the programme for the development of the national space sector up to 2020 where the concept of the Moon and Mars exploration is outlined,” Perminov said, in particular, last month.
He earlier even named some dates. Thus, it is planned to ensure readiness for landing on the Moon by 2025 and in the period from 2027 to 2035 – to create a base there, and the flight to Mars is planned after 2035.
Last year Roskosmos already drafted proposals on the space activities up to 2040.
“They include all aspects, including flights to the Moon and Mars. Now it is necessary to only form the financial and resource support,” Perminov noted.
According to him, these proposals contain several directions, in particular, the further exploration of the near-Earth space, exploration of the Moon and preparation and performing of the flight to Mars.
It is planned to fulfil the Roskosmos proposals in three stages. At the first stage – up to 2015, three tasks will be fulfilled – the completion of the assembly of the Russian segment of the International Space Station, raising efficiency of the transport system, creation of the scientific-technical reserve for the next stages.
During the second stage it is planned to create boosters and transport systems of the new generation. Russia plans to extend the ISS exploitation up to 2020.
At the third stage it is planned to perform manned flights to the Moon and Mars, as well as to create the Earth’s asteroid security system.