Putin Slashes Budget For Russia’s Space Program

Ars Technica reports:

For 2022, the state budget for space activities will be set at 210 billion rubles ($2.9 billion), a cut of 40.3 billion rubles ($557 million) from the previous year. Similar cuts will follow in subsequent years. The most significant decreases will be in areas such as “manufacturing-technological activities” and “cosmodrome development.” Funding for “scientific research and development” was zeroed out entirely.

Russian publications say Russian President Vladimir Putin is unhappy with the performance of Russia’s space program. At a space industry meeting on September 29, they report, Putin criticized the industry’s failure to fulfill directives on long-term goals in the space sphere. In 2013, Russia re-nationalized its space industry and converted the contracting companies into corporations owned and operated by the state.

Read the full article.

Putin is unhappy with the performance of Russia’s space program and expects Roscosmos to deliver on its stated goals… albeit with a much smaller budget.https://t.co/Lpv8yGqgnz

— Ars Technica (@arstechnica) October 8, 2021