MOSCOW. July 2 (Interfax) - Russia cannot allow a pause in its piloted space program, considering the condition of the International Space Station (ISS), Yury Borisov, CEO of Russia's Roscosmos state space corporation, said in televised remarks.
"All of you are perfectly aware of the ISS's condition. Most importantly, we cannot allow a pause in our piloted program," Borisov said on the Rossiya-24 (VGTRK) television channel.
The Russian space station program provides for "building not only a station itself, but also ground infrastructure, as well as timely preparing all the necessary launch vehicles for their missions," he said.
"A new space center from where it will be launched, a new launch vehicle, a new manned spacecraft [...] This is going to be a permanent lab for testing all technical and technological innovations," he said.
Vladimir Kozhevnikov, the chief designer of Russia's future space station, said in an interview, "The main challenge is the very scope of the work that needs to be done within a compressed timeframe, because this is the biggest project in Russia's space history."
Artificial intelligence will be employed in the Russian space station's operations, he said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Roscosmos reported that key contracts had been signed for building a Russian space station, and Borisov endorsed its construction schedule.