Koptev: Russia could lose its place in space if it does not invest

The country's satellite fleet has shrunk by 50% over the past decade, Mr Koptev said, and Russia owns only 90 of the some 600 satellites now orbiting earth.

Of the 90 satellites, 43 are military while "some of the others" have a dual civilian-military role, according to the Russian space chief.

"We now only put a new satellite into orbit every two years, compared with three or four a year previously," he said.

Insufficient funds

But at least 75% of Russia's satellites have served out their lifetimes, with some 20 to 30 years old, and they are too old to be operational.

Under the national budget, the government is supposed to allocate 4.3 billion rubles ($478 million) for the space programme this year, Aerospace Agency spokesman Konstantin Kreidenko told the Associated Press.

But Mr Koptev said the government was going to spend only $193m on the programme this year, "whereas Europe is expecting to spend $3bn".

Foreign revenue

So far, the Russian space programme has stayed afloat with revenues from commercial launches of foreign satellites.

Last year Russia carried out almost half of the world's satellite launches

Last year Russia carried out almost half of the world's satellite launches, and the industry could earn about $1bn a year from deals with foreign countries, Mr. Koptev said.

The world's first space tourist, American businessman Dennis Tito, paid Russia up to $20m for the honour.

And space experts praise the Russian's expertise in manned space programs.

Russia operated the Mir space station for 15 years, making it the world's longest-serving orbiter, and dealt with scores of harrowing accidents.

But Mr Koptev warned that Russia "could lose its place in this sector if it does not invest the necessary minimum."