Russia to spend $3.8B on space program

MOSCOW, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- The Russian government will spend $3.8 billion on its national space program in 2011, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Tuesday.

Putin said Russia plans to launch about 50 spacecraft in 2011 and adopt a federal program to develop the Glonass satellite navigation system until 2020, RIA Novosti reported.

Russia had wanted to complete the forming of its Glonass system, similar to GPS in the United States, last year, but a Proton-M carrier rocket carrying three Glonass satellites veered off course and crashed into the Pacific Ocean Dec. 5.

Roscosmos, Russia's space agency, said August was the target date for the launch of a Proton rocket carrying another three Glonass satellites.

Russia also will work to increase its share in the global space market by designing new models of unmanned and manned spacecraft, participating in more international space projects and building a new space center, Putin said.