MOSCOW, February 20. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin during his State of the Nation address to the Federal Assembly ordered the Moscow government and the Roscosmos State Space Corporation to create the National Space Center. According to the president, the center should unite key organizations, design bureaus and production facilities and ensure carrying out scientific researches and training staff. Putin stressed that for a true revolution in the sphere of communications, navigation and the creation of Earth's remote sensing systems Russia’s satellites constellation needs to be significantly increased. "Russia has unique technologies for that, but such tasks demand fundamental upgrading of the entire space sector," he said. Roscosmos Chief Dmitry Rogozin told reporters on Wednesday the National Space Center in Moscow is expected to start operations in three and a half years. "This project was presented to the president and he backed it. Now we will start working with the Moscow government and I believe and this center will start operations in three and a half years, according to our estimates," Rogozin said. "Some 20,000 designers and engineers of Roscosmos will gather at one place," he noted. The National Space Center will be created on the territory of the Khrunichev Center’s plant.
During his State of the Nation address, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for the establishment of a National Space Center. The space center would be located in Russia's Far East, and it is expected to cost about $1 billion, according to RIA Novosti. Roscosmos Chief Dmitry Rogozin said that he expects the National Space Center, to be based in Moscow, to begin operations in at least three years.