Head of the Federal Space Agency of Russia Anatoly Perminov (left) with president of RKK Energy Vitaly Lapota
Photo: Sergey Kiselev
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Financial Crisis Threatens Space Station
The world financial crisis is threatening International Space Station research programs. Specialists say that, unless there is a change in conditions, construction of the Soyuz spacecraft may be stopped for lack of funds. Vitaly Lapota, president and chief designer of Energy Corp., expressed his concerns on radio station Mayak, saying that “Two-thirds of the funds needed for the creation of the Soyuz in the budget were planned from credit resources that we were supposed to receive from banks,” he said.
“If they do not give us either advances or credit in the next two or three weeks, as we foresaw in the federal program, we will probably be unable to be responsible for the preparation of the Soyuz,” Lapota said. The corporation stated that the government promised at the beginning of the month to provide it easy credit. “But it is already the end of the month and we haven’t received the credit,” Lapota noted.
Representatives of the Russian Space Agency immediately dismissed Lapota’s concerns. Agency head Anatoly Perminov stated that the space station program is equipped with Soyuz craft for the next year.”Crews are also being trained and we don’t expect to change our plans,” Perminov said. The Soyuz will be the only link between the space station and Earth after flights by the U.S. space shuttle cease in 2011.
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