[Semi-OT] Russia's space defenses stage a revival

"This year, the first of the ten-year federal space program, Russia has
increased its space budget by as much as one-third compared with 2005.
Funds are also allocated through two other channels - the state
armaments program for 2007-2015 (defense and security) and the special
federal programs "Global Navigation System" and "Development of Russian
Space Centers in 2006-2015". Despite this, Russia, the one-time leader
in space exploration (next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the
first artificial satellite launched by the U.S.S.R.), ranks sixth in
space spending, lagging not only behind the U.S., but also China and
India. In the second half of the 1990s, Russia's military space
potential dropped to its lowest level ever in most respects, and some
systems were near the point of no return. In 2001, the orbiting GLONASS
(Global Navigation Satellite System) time-coordinate positioning
constellation, for example, was down to eight satellites from 24 in
1995. Overall, it has been trimmed down from 186 to the present 94-97."

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20061004/54509604.html

--
Herb Schaltegger
"You can run on for a long time . . . sooner or later, God'll cut you
down." - Johnny Cash
http://www.angryherb.net