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Q. Where do you think Russia's space program will go in the future?
  Since ancient times, humans studied space just because they wanted to understand everything that was beyond the boundaries of Earth. Interplanetary travel was a dream even before the discovery of America. It started in the times of the ancient Greeks, if I am not mistaken. Russian scientists dreamed about this too. Long before the Cold War, there was a drive to explore everything that's far away.
The Cold War was a competition between political systems, but it served as a catalyst for the promotion of space research. Aside from space research, we wanted to improve our military might and show the superiority of our social system. The Americans, it turned out, needed our successes so that their Congressmen would release more funds for their space program. The lunar-landing program started by President Kennedy was their answer to Gagarin's space flight. The United States needed to restore its prestige as a superpower.
There are records of speeches by American scientists and industrialists who confidently predicted that there would be functional bases on the moon and on Mars by the end of the 20th century. We too were certain that this would happen, but they have yet to materialize. All of us were seriously mistaken. Predictions, you see, are far from reliable.
As far as the prospects for Russia's space program right now, I believe it has enormous scientific potential, but it is impeded by Russia's very limited economic resources. So until Russia finds a way out of its economic crisis, its space program will proceed very slowly. Space research cannot survive on its own; it depends on other branches of the economy and of industry, which were practically destroyed during the period of reforms. As long as Russia's economy remains based on the extraction of natural resources, especially on oil revenue, the prospects for its space program are very limited.
Q. China succeeded in a manned flight last year. What do you think about that?
You have to remember this: in 1955, the government of the People's Republic of China asked our government for technical help in developing long-range ballistic missiles. In 1957, in accordance with the agreement between our two countries, Sergei Korolev, our chief rocket engineer, provided documentation and technological information on the R-2 rocket, which had a range of 600 kilometres, and dispatched a large group of specialists to China. These specialists lived in China with their families, and managed the design and manufacture of long-range ballistic missiles. China started this project from scratch, but was exceptionally motivated. It was very difficult. But nevertheless, three years later, in November 1960, China launched its first ballistic missile, with a flying range of 600 kilometres. But a few years later political relations between our two countries cooled off, and since 1967 China has ran its missile program on its own.
As you know, rockets are the basis of space development. When the fanatics who ruled China were replaced by rational technocrats, many of whom had actually studied in the Soviet Union, they began to familiarize themselves with modern scientific knowledge and space rocket technology. They realized that space technology could enhance not only their military strength but many other areas of technology as well.
The Chinese leaders gave their engineers a very difficult task: to study closely the experience and failures of the Soviet Union and the United States; to purchase knowledge, not ready-made technology; and on the basis of that purchased knowledge to produce their own products, made in China with Chinese raw materials. I have to say that Chinese engineers accomplished this task magnificently.
It took China 43 years after its first launch of a domestically produced long-range ballistic missile to send a man into space. It took the Soviet Union 13 years, the United States, 14. But Russia and the United States started to develop rocket technology after they had already become great industrialized nations, while China had been a much less developed country when it launched its rocket program. So China's success is truly remarkable. The speed of China's industrial, scientific and technological development today is greater than that of any of the leading nations. And it's important to note that China doesn't collaborate with us or with the United States because the Chinese want to learn to do everything on their own. At this rate, in 15-20 years China could figure out how to build a base on the moon.
I think that it would be very useful for Russia and Japan to begin to collaborate not just on short-term and small-scale projects but in a long-term, large-scale way. The combination of Japan's advanced technology in such fields as electronics and control engineering and Russia's enormous experience in manned flights would allow us to create an exceptionally strong space-development joint venture.
Interestingly, the leaders of communist China and capitalist America have expressed very similar views on space research, in essence: "we fly into space because the thirst for knowledge and new discoveries is a part of our national character." Why don't Russian and Japanese leaders say the same thing? Aren't the younger generations of our countries deserving of the chance to dream, to dare, and to perform feats of heroism at the leading edge of space?
It seems to me that the present Russian and Japanese leaders should consider the fact that success in space provides unique moral support to the general public. China's manned flight is a good example of this, as was Gagarin's flight for us and Neil Armstrong's lunar landing for the Americans. These successes created a remarkable sense of national unity.
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