MOSCOW. Nov 30 (Interfax-AVN) - A shortage of skilled personnel is one of the main problems facing the Russian space industry, said Russian cosmonaut, Hero of the Soviet Union Georgy Grechko. "What is our main trouble? The [federal space agency] Roscosmos chief spoke about it recently, although it is an open secret for specialists: the staff employed are either over 60 or under 30. There is no intermediate age group," he told Interfax-AVN in a comment on the Russian space industry's failures in 2011. "A generation was lost for the industry, when it was struggling to survive," Grechko said. "People, most of them trial, energetic and talented, would seek higher earnings in other places. The space industry could not offer them any decent salary. Incidentally, even now salaries are not high enough in the space industry, and they are sometimes below the average federal or regional levels," he said. Concerning the failure of the Phobos-Grunt mission, he said, "We last launched such a sophisticated system some 25 years ago. Think what the 25 years mean for the space industry. A shift of generations occurred," Grechko said. No continuity was observed in the industry, he also said. At one point, the Soviet Union would launch spacecraft to Mars and Venus at a pace of one per two years. A more busy schedule is unfeasible, given the astronomical conditions and the mutual location of the planets and the Sun, he said. "Experience would be accumulated and know-how tested. But then a gap of 25 years followed. By the way, the United States, Europe and even India intensified the exploration of the planets and achieved impressive successes then. We are starting these interplanetary automatic missions virtually from scratch in terms of the modern technological level," Grechko said. sd jv (Our editorial staff can be reached at eng.editors@interfax.ru) Azerbaijani MPs to observe elections in Russia Wed 30 November 2011 07:09 GMT | 8:09 Time
MOSCOW. Nov 30 (Interfax-AVN) - A shortage of skilled personnel is one of the main problems facing the Russian space industry, said Russian cosmonaut, Hero of the Soviet Union Georgy Grechko. "What is our main trouble? The [federal space agency] Roscosmos chief spoke about it recently, although it is an open secret for specialists: the staff employed are either over 60 or under 30. There is no intermediate age group," he told Interfax-AVN in a comment on the Russian space industry's failures in 2011. "A generation was lost for the industry, when it was struggling to survive," Grechko said. "People, most of them energetic and talented, would seek higher earnings in other places. The space industry could not offer them any decent salary. Incidentally, even now salaries are not high enough in the space industry, and they are sometimes below the average federal or regional levels," he said. Concerning the failure of the Phobos-Grunt mission, he said, "We last launched such a sophisticated system some 25 years ago. Think what the 25 years mean for the space industry. A shift of generations occurred," Grechko said. No continuity was observed in the industry, he also said. At one point, the Soviet Union would launch spacecraft to Mars and Venus at a pace of one per two years. A more busy schedule is unfeasible, given the astronomical conditions and the mutual location of the planets and the Sun, he said. "Experience would be accumulated and know-how tested. But then a gap of 25 years followed. By the way, the United States, Europe and even India intensified the exploration of the planets and achieved impressive successes then. We are starting these interplanetary automatic missions virtually from scratch in terms of the modern technological level," Grechko said. sd jv (Our editorial staff can be reached at eng.editors@interfax.ru) Azerbaijani MPs to observe elections in Russia Wed 30 November 2011 07:09 GMT | 8:09 Time trial,