Russian Space Program is grossly underfunded

Russia is not in a position to carry out global space programs single-handedly and should team up with India and Kazakhstan, veteran rocket scientist Boris Chertok said on Tuesday.

He said Russian space programs are grossly underfunded compared to similar projects in the United States and China.

"The United States spends about 10 times as much on space programs as Russia," he said. "At present there are three [space] poles - Russia, the United States and China."

To preserve its positions in space research Russia needs to pool efforts with India and Kazakhstan, he added.

"As for China, it has sufficient resources to undertake space programs on its own," Chertok also said.