The New Russian Space Program

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on November 21, 2007 that a new cosmodrome will be build in a remote region of Russia. In addition Russia is building new heavy-lifting boosters, named Angara that will be complete in 2018 and in 2020 will be used for manned space flights.

Currently Russia is using Baikonur Cosmodrome to launch its space shuttle. The Baikonur Cosmodrome is located in Kazakhstan a former Soviet satellite since the collapse of U.S.S.R.

The construction of the Vostochny Cosmodrome will begin late in 2008 or in 2009 and it will be located in the far eastern section of Russia, in the Amur region at the border with China.

President Putin wants to ensure Russia's guaranteed access to space by building the new Vostochny Cosmodrome and the new Angara Rocket Boosters, because Russia is forced to use the Baikonur Cosmodrome leased from Kazakhstan and to buy Zenit boosters from Ukraine.

The Angara rocket boosters are developed at the Khrunichev State Space Scientific Production Center. They will lift payloads from 2,000 to 24,500 kilograms into Earth's orbit, the rocket boosters use liquid oxygen and rocket propellant-1, a type of kerosene as fuel. The first stage of the Angara rocket was tested successfully in December 12, 2007 the test simulated near flight conditions for the hydraulics and steering actuators.

The first rocket boosters from the Angara series will be ready for use in 2011 and they will be launched form the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, situated at 800 kilometers north of Moscow, south of Arkhangelsk Oblast.

Russia's space agency (RSA) announced that it will stop transporting space tourists to the ISS from 2010, because there is not sufficient space to accommodate the increasing number of crew members on the ISS. Russia will increase the number of members on ISS from three to six or nine members in 2010.

The Vosstochny Cosmodrome will replace the Baikonur Cosmodrome and the Angara launch vehicle will replace the Ukrainian Zenit rocket boosters, allowing Russia to send people in space without the help of other countries. After the U.S.S.R collapse the state stopped most of the RSA funding and nearly all space projects where close, like the space shuttle Buran who in April 2008 was shipped to the Technikmuseum Speyer Museum in Germany.

With these programs President Vladimir Putin wants to restore the Russian national pride. In 2007 Russia resumed the Cold War bomber patrols along its borders and claimed a big chunk of the North Pole that contains diamonds, gas and twice the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia.