The Federal Space Agency has completed the first stage of the integration of space companies, said Vladimir Popovkin, head of the agency, Interfax reported.
He said space companies had been merged into 12 larger entities, adding that further mergers were "inevitable." "Integration is necessary, but we'll take a very careful approach," he said.
Popovkin also said the agency had almost doubled funding for the development of spacecraft.
He said a third of the funds allocated for the agency were currently being used to develop spacecraft.
Popovkin said that currently Russian companies had to lease communications channels transmitted by foreign satellites for broadcasting and to buy foreign satellite images. He added that this situation should be changed.
(MT)
