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Russian Space Troops to Continue Carrier Rocket Tests in 2005

Posted on: Monday, 22 November 2004, 15:00 CST

Text of report in English by Russian news agency Interfax-AVN web site

Moscow, 22 November: The Russian Space Troops will continue flight tests of various future carrier rockets in 2005, the Space Troops press-service told Interfax-Military News Agency today.

"Lt-Gen Vladimir Popovkin, Space Troops commander, said at the meeting of the military council that in 2005 the Space Troops would continue testing Proton-M heavy carrier rockets with the Briz-M booster, Soyuz-2 medium carrier rockets with the Frigat booster, and Rokot light carrier rockets in 2005," a press-service official said.

According to him, major Space Troops development objectives in 2005 comprised modernizing existing and developing future radars, based on off-the-shelf technologies, improving space control capabilities, accepting and fielding a number of missile-defence systems, flight testing a number of future spacecraft, and developing future spacecraft.

In addition to that, the Plesetsk space centre is also expected to be developed in order to launch military and dual-purpose spacecraft from Russian territory. The Strela light carrier rocket will also be prepared for flight tests at the Svobodnyy space centre.

At the same time major efforts of the Space Troops command and control will be focused on employing full capabilities of missile- attack warning systems, missile-defence systems, and the space- control system.

Source: BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union

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