MOSCOW, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Russian government is planning to allocate more than 515 billion rubles (7.78 billion U.S. dollars) for the development of the country's aerospace industry from 2019 to 2021, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday.
"This money should be effectively used to build up our orbital capabilities, create a super-heavy class carrier and carry out a manned flight program," said Medvedev at a meeting on the financial conditions of the Roscosmos state space corporation and its affiliates, according to a transcript by the government.
In addition, Medvedev said the Vostochny cosmodrome in Russia's Far Eastern Amur region will start the second phase of its construction and is expected to reach full readiness to launch spacecraft of various purposes using heavy-class launch vehicles by 2021.
The construction of the Vostochny cosmodrome began in 2012. As the first national facility for civilian space launches, it is intended to reduce Russia's dependence on the Kazakhstan-based Baikonur launch site and ensure its full-scale access to outer space.
In April 2016, a rocket carrying three satellites was launched from the Vostochny cosmodrome, the first launch from the newly built spaceport.
