Russian Programme of Launching Cargo Spacecraft to Iss Gets No Overseas Funding Assistance

Moscow has so far failed to reach any specific agreements on foreign financial assistance to the launch of Russian cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station, ISS, Rosaviakosmos head Yury Koptev said.

When addressing the press on Saturday at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, he recalled that since the wreck of the US Columbia shuttle in early February Russian cargo spacecraft had been working under greater pressure.

Rosaviakosmos is continuing discussions with their US and American partners on the need "for collective responsibility for the preservation of the ISS," Koptev said.

When commenting on the reports that the programme of shuttle launches might be resumed in October he said he was doubtful. The Rosaviakosmos head recalled that none of the three commissions set up after the Columbia shuttle crash had finished its work and the reasons for the crash had not been established yet.