The Soviet Union unveiled an annual space budget of 6.9 billion roubles (then $4.3 billion) in 1989. However, Russia's current space program now gets 20 times less federal money than at that time. If such areas as communication and navigation satellites, and to some extent remote sensing of the Earth, enjoy a relatively favorable position (this is without even mentioning manned space travel, as the ISS only survives thanks to Russia), then fundamental research is bordering on a crisis.
Russia has only put three scientific satellites in to orbit in the last three years, whereas in the past it used to launch at least two satellites and inter-planetary probes a year. Today, Russian scientists confine themselves to space-plasma research and studying solar-terrestrial ties. These research projects are implemented using Russian-made Interbol spacecraft, which have been flying for over five years, and the Coronas-F satellite. The latter is still in orbit and has exceeded its rated service life by over 100%.
A black day in Russia's planetary exploration came on November 17, 1997 when the Mars-96 automatic station was launched, only for its booster to fail. Since then, Russian scientists have merely contributed modest, but high quality instruments to American and European missions to Mars. They have had to forget all about any other planets.
The Relict, Quantum and Granat projects in the late 1980s and the early 1990s enabled Russia to catch up with West to some extent in astro-physical research. However, financial difficulties mean that the implementation of new projects, including those included in the Federal Space Program, is postponed every year. Europe's Integral space observatory has saved the day, as it was orbited by a Russian Proton launch vehicle and so Russian scientists are now entitled to 27% of the observation time.
It have been amore appropriate to use the money on the launch vehicle to finance a Russian Spectrum - X-Ray - Gamma astro-physical observatory, which is in no way inferior to the Integral. The project was already in the advanced stages and could have completed several years ago with an additional $20-30 million.
Russian biological satellites, which account for at least 50% of the scientific data on fundamental aspects of living organisms' behavior in space, have not lifted off for many years. This data, as well as medical research during manned missions, made it possible to fly safe year-long manned missions on the Mir orbital station, and to work out medical recommendations for even longer space flights.
So, what lies in store for Russian space science?
First of all, state funding for the space program has increased in the last few years. Allocations surged by 71.2% in 2002 as against 2001, and exceeded the 1999 figure by 300%. In 2003 and 2004 annual growth was 30%. The draft 2005 federal budget stipulates 18,269.63 billion roubles for the Federal Space Program, or 133.47% of the 2004 level.
As in the previous years, half of the allocations will go to the International Space Station, which is justified, as only then can Russia honor its commitments. Russian Soyuz act as emergency escape craft, maintain fuel reserves and also rotate crews prior to the resumption of shuttle flights.
At the same time, increased state allocations mean that other protracted projects, including scientific ones, can be continued. Priority has been given to the Radioastron project, which should see a radio-telescope orbited in 2006. This project aims to study the structure of galactic and extra-galactic radio wave sources, their internal processes and other processes occurring near them.
The Spectrum - X-Ray - Gamma observatory project will not be implemented in the near future. Despite the increased funding, the country still does not have enough money to complete two astro-physical space observatories at once. Moreover, the Spectrum - X-Ray - Gamma observatory will be launched on the cheaper Soyuz launch vehicle rather than the Proton rocket as had initially been planned. This meant that some aspects of this scientific program and related instruments had to be scrapped.
The space observatory's main objectives, which cannot be accomplished using operational Western orbital observatories or any others due to be launched within the next few years, are to monitor five to ten radio-wave sources - active galaxy nuclei and a super-massive black hole in the center of the galaxy - in coordination with ground facilities conducting radio-optical observations.
The Federal Space program also includes the Spectrum - Ultraviolet project for monitoring an unprecedented number of objects. However, this observatory will be the third to be launched, and this unlikely to happen before 2010-2012.
The Phobos-Grunt project is a priority of the planetology program. The mission's objectives are to land an automatic probe on Phobos, which is one of Mars's two satellites, where it will collect soil and rock samples and deliver them to Earth. An automatic station with a long service life will remain on Phobos to study it, monitor Mars's atmosphere and study Martian space. The launch is scheduled for 2009.
The experience gained from the project will allow preparations to be made for another project to bring samples from Mars back to Earth. There are also plans to land a number of small scientific stations on Mars in 2009-2011, with Finnish scientists providing many of the instruments.
The Coronas-Photon project, which should be implemented quicker than any similar undertaking, will focus on space-plasma physics and solar-terrestrial ties. It will continue the Coronas-F craft's observations of the Sun and its activity.
Various experts need solar-activity forecasts, for example, specialists controlling radio networks and ensuring the safety of long manned missions. A craft must be positioned as far away from the Earth as possible to predict solar activity. Russian scientists have put forward the Klipper project, which is designed to launch several tiny solar-sail satellites. The pressure of the solar wind in the sails will move the craft three to four million kilometers away from Earth, which will give scientists more time to issue warnings about "dangerous" occurrences in space.
The Resonance spacecraft, due to be launched in 2009, will study space plasma and the possibility of regulating terrestrial-magnetosphere processes by artificial methods.
In the longer term, the Interheliozond project will conduct short-range solar research. The craft will execute a gravitation maneuver near Venus to enter a solar orbit at a perigee of 42 million kilometers. Subsequent gravitation maneuvers will reduce the perigee to 21 million kilometers. The Interheliozond could eventually descend to 7-10 million kilometers, as its minimal perigee will only be limited by the heat screen's vaporization under the impact of solar radiation.
NASA and the European Space Agency plan to implement similar projects, Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter, in the future. However, even though the Europeans have announced a launch date of 2014, the implementation of neither project has started.
The Interheliozond project also remains at the research stage, as Russia does not have enough money to launch experimental work.
Other promising Russian projects include the Roi (Swarm-F) satellite cluster for analyzing critical magnetosphere sectors using high-precision devices. These observations will make it possible to compile accurate "space-weather" forecasts. The Polar Ecliptic Probe will orbit the Sun and monitoring "space weather". The Moon Shadow craft will observe monthly lunar eclipses. However, all these projects remain in the initial stages.
Russia will start launching biological satellites next year. There are plans to orbit the modified Bion spacecraft in June 2005, with the more advanced Foton-M lifting off in August 2006. Three more Bion-M satellites are to be launched later to conduct comparative studies of micro-gravitation's biological effects, as well as those of artificial gravitation, in long space flights.
