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Russia will stay involved in International Space Station |
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April 13, 2000
MOSCOW, APR 12 (AP) - On the 39th anniversary of the Soviet Union's launching the first man into space, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia will keep up its commitment to the long-delayed International Space Station.
Putin, meeting cosmonauts and space officials on the day set aside to honor their profession, said Russia will keep its international commitments but that "national production has to be our priority."
The remark looked like a bit of diplomacy aimed at the supporters of the Mir space station, Russia's aging spacecraft that just received a new crew after eight months of unmanned flight while Russia decided whether to scrap it.
In the end, Putin decided to keep the Mir aloft, adding to skepticism that Russia will be able to meet its obligations for the International Space Station, a multinational project that is months late because of Russia's failure to build key components on time.
Putin also used the occasion to touch on one of his key priorities - restoring Russia's greatness after years of economic and political decline have reduced its sway abroad.
"The space sector is not only a prestigious sector which makes our country a great power, but it is also linked to economic and scientific development," Putin said.
It's not clear where Russia will get the money to honor all its space commitments. After the Soviet Union collapsed, Russia drastically scaled back its space program, and so far the government has only earmarked about dlrs 120 million to the program this year.
Putin said the Russian Security Council would meet soon to discuss financing the space program.
On April 12, 1961, the Soviet Union stunned the world by putting the first human, Yuri Gagarin, into space. Gagarin, who died several years later in a plane crash, became a national hero and is still widely revered. Since then, Russia has celebrated April 12 as Cosmonauts' Day.
After the meeting Wednesday, Putin accompanied cosmonauts and space officials to lay flowers at the site on the Kremlin wall where Gagarin's remains are interred.
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