I jeszce o kryzysie rosyjskiej kosmonautyki
Russian space program in 'crisis' as David Saint-Jacques set to blast offChris Brown · CBC News · Posted: Nov 28, 2018 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: November 28
(...) "I am afraid we are not a reliable partner for the U.S. and Europeans," said Luzin, who wrote his Ph.D on Russian and American space policy. "I see decline [and] a long-term crisis that is based on our inability to adapt our economics and scientific policy to a contemporary world." (...)
Stolen moneyA damning report released this week by the Kremlin's own auditors demonstrates just how, well, astronomical the financial and production problems with Russia's space program are.
The news agency RIA Novosti quoted Alexei Kudrin, the head of Russia's Accounts Chamber, as saying, "We have big problems with Roscosmos."
Kudrin suggested there has been mismanagement. "Several billions [of rubles] have been lost — that is, essentially stolen — and investigations are underway."
He told a Russian TV station that "irrational spending" abounds, with the agency paying inflated prices to contractors, and that Roscosmos somehow loses track of money for unfinished or idle projects.
On Tuesday, Russian prosecutors revealed they had launched 16 criminal cases against Roscosmos employees, involving everything from improper procurement and fraud to the delivery of faulty or poor-quality products.
The agency said more than 200 officials were involved in the violations. Among the most egregious instances cited by prosecutors was a reported $152 million US embezzled during construction of Russia's new space port in Vostochny, in the country's far east. (...)
Essential cooperation(...)
The roughly $500 million US that NASA pays to Roscosmos each year for seats on the Soyuz, as well as for parts for other rockets, is a critical top-up of the $1.8 billion US budget Roscosmos receives from Putin's government. (...)
Pavel Luzin, the Perm space analyst, said firms such as Boeing, Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin are poised to take over tasks now performed by Roscosmos. And the Russian agency has been unable to demonstrate it can compete with emerging space technologies. (...)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/russian-space-program-in-crisis-as-david-saint-jacques-set-to-blast-off-1.4922114