Russia is a vast country with a thousand-year history, a well-educated and ethnically diverse population, enormous natural resources, and a broad, but declining industrial base. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia has experienced great difficulties in moving from its old centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. Financing for its space program has declined sharply. Also, Russia's Baikonur space port is now in the sovereign nation of Kazakhstan; some of its booster rockets are manufactured in Ukraine.
The Russian Space Agency (RSA) and the Energia corporation work to market Russia's space services to other nations, as well as to form international partnerships such as the Shuttle-Mir program with the U.S. and the International Space Station with the U.S. and other countries.
Related
Links:
Baikonur
Russian Space Agency and Energia
Cultural Aspects
Russia and Spaceflight
 |
Curator:
Kim Dismukes
Responsible NASA Official: John Ira Petty |
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