Russia’s space corporation Energia is doubling production of manned spacecraft, Energia’s president said on Monday. Vitaly Lopota said production of space freighters would increase by 50%.
He did not say what the current production levels were or how many spacecraft would be built. Nor did he offer a timeframe.
Lopota also said Russia had an “insignificant share” of the world’s $300 billion space services market. The executive said Russia should increase its share and that the outlook for this was good.
He also said Russia’s Moon and Mars mission projects were far more cost-effective than similar U.S. projects.
“We can achieve more with less money,” he said, adding that NASA had taken an interest in Russian projects.
Energia is the principal contractor for the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS).
