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Russian Deputy Premier Refuses to Rule Out "Mir 2" After ISS
By Interfax
posted: 11:59 am ET
22 March 2001
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MOSCOW (Interfax) - Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov says Russia may have a "Mir-2" orbiting space station in the future MOSCOW (Interfax) -- Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov said Russia may have a "Mir 2" orbiting space station in the future. That would happen when Russia has the necessary economic capacity, Klebanov told the press on Thursday, but added that "it is impossible for the next 15 years." [uplink] Russia's work "on the very serious programs related to the International Space Station" will make it possible to build such a station in the future, Klebanov said. Meanwhile, ISS will take priority in Russia's space program in the coming years. "No country in the world could cope with orbital manned space projects on its own today," the deputy premier told Interfax. Klebanov reiterated recent official statements that Mir belongs to a class of spacecraft that date back 20 years technologically, and the cost of further extending the station's life would be prohibitive. "The lion's share of the space budget would go [into] work to repair and upgrade it," he said. "The International Space Station is a move forward. If Mir stayed aloft, we would be unable to develop new projects and advance technologically." The International Space Station project is intended to last 13 to 15 years, during which time, Klebanov said, "the Russian economy could stabilize and resources for the development of Russian space plans could appear."
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