MOSCOW, August 4 (RIA Novosti) - Russian scientists hope that the western sanctions, imposed on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine, will not impede the implementation of space projects, according to the director of the Lebedev Physical Institute Astro Space Center, Nikolai Kardashev.
The scientist specifically hopes the sanctions will not affect the Millimetron space observatory mission – a high-sensitivity astrophysics study unit operating in millimeter and submillimeter and infrared regions.
“So far everything seems to be in order. This month our experts are going to Japan in order to discuss [the supply of foreign-made components] in full detail,” Kardashev told journalists.
According to the scientist, Russian specialists could produce the components needed, should the western sanctions hit the space collaboration sphere.
“There is no turnkey solution, but there are factories that are able to start the development,” Kardashev said. But transferring the order to Russian suppliers will postpone the Millimetron mission’s launch, which is now scheduled for 2020.
According to Kardashev, the mirrors for the telescope and the screens are being produced at the moment. The satellite platform is being developed by Russian aerospace company NPO Lavochkin.
The Millimetron space observatory is a Russian-led mission with an extensive international consortium. The observatory requires a large space telescope with unprecedented sensitivity, allowing for the study of the formation and evolution of stars, planets, galaxies and quasars. The main contractor for the project is Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos).
Among the foreign-made components that are planned to be used in the Millimetron space observatory are an active cooling system for the reflector and ultrasensitive receivers for infrared wavelengths.
