Space

Russia and Astronomy

Thirty years of deep-space astrophysical investigations from Soviet unmanned orbital observatories came to an end in 1994 with the shutdown of the last such satellite. No similar spacecraft have been launched since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the spacecraft under development at that time have been delayed repeatedly as budgetary difficulties have grown. With a backlog of four major space observatories, proposals for new programs have been afforded little serious attention and no commitments.