Russia announces plans to consolidate its space industry

Russia's government says it will radically centralize its space industry in a bid to combat major inefficiencies and cut down on the misuse of funds. Under plans unveiled Wednesday by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, a new state corporation will be created to take over manufacturing facilities from the Federal Space Agency, which has been plagued in recent years by a number of failed rocket launches, RIA Novosti reported. The proposed United Rocket and Space Corporation will enable the trimming away of redundant departments duplicated elsewhere in the country's space industry, Rogozin told Russian President Vladimir Putin in a meeting Wednesday. The proposed entity is roughly analogous to existing state-controlled joint stock companies such as United Aircraft Corporation, which integrates the aviation sector, and the United Shipbuilding Corporation, which unifies shipbuilding, repair and maintenance subsidiaries across Russia, he said. Under the plan, the existing Federal Space Agency, or Roscosmos, would serve as a federal executive body and contracting authority for programs to be implemented by the industry, Rogozin said.