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Sudden Self-doubt in Russia

By Keith Cowing
NASA Watch
August 30, 2011
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Space Failures Raise Uneasy Questions, Moscow Times
“The Progress failure triggered a wave of talk about how far the space program has fallen since legendary Soviet days. But Igor Lisov, an expert with the Novosti Kosmonavtiki magazine, said that despite the setbacks, “it’s too early to speak about the degradation” of Russia’s space industry. “Every accident has its cause, and they shouldn’t be generalized,” Lisov said in a telephone interview. Within the industry, spacecraft accidents are considered unavoidable, with one out of every 100 launches expected to fail. But in Russia, the statistics might be augmented due to human factor.”
Russia wastes billions in space, Pravda
“The crash of Progress space freighter is not the first breakdown that has occurred to Russian spacecraft. The previous incident took place in the middle of this August. Express AM4 communication satellite went off radar screens before it reached orbit. The cost of the lost satellite made up 7.5 billion rubles. A Proton booster rocket with three Glonass-M satellites on board crashed into the Pacific Ocean in December 2010. The crash resulted in the loss of 4 billion rubles. Geo-IK-2 global positioning satellite burnt in space in February this year. The breakdown halted the Russian space GPS program. Konstantin Kreidenko, an expert with Glonass Herald magazine, believes that the Russian space industry is outdated.”
Rejoice Comrades! Glorious Era of Soyuz Begins (Update), Earlier Post

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