VOSTOCHNY COSMODROME, Amur region. Sept 9 (Interfax) - The new Russian manned spaceship, previously known as Federatsiya (Federation), has been renamed Oryol (Eagle), Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin told journalists on Friday.
"Today, we held a long discussion about using the Vostochny Cosmodrome to start flight tests of the new manned transport ship, the Federatsiya design and experimental project. I'll tell you the name of the ship. The name is Oryol, [as in] the name of the first military sailing ship which was built by Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov. That's where the Russian tricolor was used for the first time," Rogozin said.
Earlier, he said that Federatsiya would be renamed to something more masculine because a ship "cannot be a girl."
The Russian president backed the name change, Rogozin said.