Russian Space Expert Fired After Criticizing #Roscosmos Reforms | Business | The Moscow Times
▻http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/russian-space-expert-fired-from-state-research-center-after-criticizing-roscosmos-reforms/515187.html
A prominent Russian space expert has been dismissed from his position with a state-run research center in a move that he says is politically motivated, after criticizing a massive space industry reform project in an interview with the BBC.
Vadim Lukashevich worked at the Skolkovo Innovation Center, a high-tech business park outside Moscow intended as Russia’s answer to Silicon Valley that has partnerships with Western research universities such as MIT.
“As I understand it, they [fired me] for a series of interviews in which I criticize the recent decision to liquidate the Federal Space Agency and create a new state corporation called Roscosmos,” Lukashevich told The Moscow Times on Friday.
President Vladimir Putin last month green-lighted the creation of the Roscosmos corporation, which aims to revitalize Russia’s space sector by welding the space agency to United Rocket and Space Corporation (URSC), a colossal industry-spanning conglomerate created by government decree last year.
URSC was tasked with reforming the space industry to meet the needs of the Federal Space Agency. Now it will absorb the agency’s responsibilities and rule over every aspect of Russia’s space activities.
Lukashevich, a prominent voice in the Russian space scene, told the BBC the reform would remove any industry accountability and would foster corruption — all while failing to provide Russia with a long-term direction in space.