MOSCOW. March 4 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia expects the American side to make a decision in a month's time on funding the construction of an additional Progress resupply spaceship for a flight to the International Space Station (ISS).
"We expect the problem to be settled within the next month. The matter has been discussed at a high level," the press service of the Russian Aviation and Space Agency told Interfax on Tuesday.
It takes about a year and a half to make a Progress but experts believe the production stage can be reduced significantly.
For a month the Russian agency has been conducting intensive talks with partners in the ISS project on funding additional launches. The need for them appeared after the suspension of flights of American space shuttles to the station following the Columbia accident.