Russian officials demand new space science development body

Russian State Duma deputies suggest setting up a council for the development of space science under the Russian president. Vladimir Gutenyov, the first deputy chairman of the Duma Committee for Industry and first vice-president of the Russian Union of Machine-Builders, told the Izvestia daily on Friday that he and his colleagues were working on the council’s structural organisation and would be ready to submit their proposals to the president soon. The council’s main objective is to exercise permanent control over the activities of the Russian Space Agency (Roskosmos) and participate in working out, implementing, monitoring and correcting the space industry’s strategy. “The Russian Space Agency and personally its head Vladimir Popovkin have recently come under lots of criticism. This criticism is not quite objective because no vertical for running the space industry has been built,” Gutenyov said. He explained that experienced people should come to carry out management reorganization. The deputy added that the future council should include “powerful managers”: representatives of the Public Chamber commission for industrial modernisation, the Duma expert council for ther aerospace industry; representatives of the Russian Space Agency; Yuri Koptev, the head of the scientific and technological council, experts from the United Engine Corporation (ODK), representatives of the TSSKB-Progress design bureau, young scientists and businessmen. Gutenyov believed that Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin who was in charge of the Russian defense industry should also be on the council. According to Gutenyov, a member of the United Russia party, the emergence of the new body will help the Russian Space Agency to avoid new mistakes in future.