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April 7, 2003. Korolev, Moscow Area.

The Checkout and Testing Center at RSC Energia after S.P. Korolev
hosted the meeting between Yu.P. Semenov, the General Designer,
Technical Director of the Russian Manned Programs, the RAS
academician, and the representatives of the Russian central and
regional mass media. 
At the meeting held before the upcoming Cosmonautics Day, Yu.P.
Semenov told the journalists about the main landmarks in the history
of the national cosmonautics, its achievements and current problems,
including those of assuring the International Space Station flight in
a man-tended mode. He laid special emphasis on the issues of
financing the activities under this large-scale project in Russia
stating that manned cosmonautics is the key direction of the national
rocket and space industry development. A wide range of high
technologies which is unique to Russia and fostered in this country,
provides background for solving many challenging problems arising out
of other activities. 
As an illustration of the above, Yuri Pavlovich dwelt on the
activities concerning the Yamal-200 new generation of
telecommunication satellites designed using the Yamal unified space
platform, which are currently being assembled at the enterprise and
will have to be ready for launch in the third quarter of 2003. Also
he familiarized the journalists with the information about
step-by-step upgrading the world-wide renowned and highly reliable
rocket and space complex 'Soyuz' created by the OKB-1 team (RSC
Energia now) under the lead of S.P. Korolev and having been flown for
about 50 years now. In addition, he outlined the enterprise
activities now under way on introducing high technologies into the
manufacture of non-space products: automatic environmental monitoring
stations, fuel cell batteries for automobile transport, vacuum
cleaners, kitchen units, mixers, prosthetic-orthopedic articles,
filters for water, etc. 
Then Yu.P. Semenov replied to a lot of questions asked by the
journalists and congratulated those present at the meeting on the
coming already international holiday, the Cosmonautics Day.
Subsequently, the journalists visited the shop of the Yamal
satellites and DM type Upper Stages final assembly and integrated
tests, which was put into operation in late 2002 again after it had
gone through a considerable modernization and reequipment. Now the
shop is in full conformity with the modern international requirements
imposed on space production by all industrial cleanliness indices.
Here Yu.P. Semenov and the key corporate specialists gave the
journalists the necessary explanations, answered their questions. The
meeting, which lasted more than 3 hours, ended with visiting the shop
dealing with final assembly and integrated tests of the Soyuz manned
vehicles, the Progress cargo transport vehicles and the orbital
station modules.

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