Space Race Post Sputnik...

ISS Robot Arm - Space Daily

Round 2 on the way! Don't worry: we'll hit 'em with "intelligent design." They'll never see it coming... 

Russia is developing a national program of manned space explorations which will replace the International Space Station (ISS) program after 2020, the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, said Thursday.

"The development of the national strategy of manned spaceflight is underway now. Along with the Russian Academy of Sciences and the industrial sector we are preparing a certain concept beyond the ISS," Roscosmos Deputy Chief Sergei Savelyev told reporters at the 18th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. 1

VOSTOCHNY COSMODROME, Russia (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin told astronauts in orbit on Friday that Russia will send up the first manned flights from its own soil in 2018, using a new launch pad he said will help the once-pioneering space power explore deep space and the moon.

Speaking by video link with the International Space Station's crew from the building site, Putin said it will be open to use by the United States and Europe - playing up cooperation on the anniversary of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin's 1961 flight, which set off the Cold War space race. 2

1. Space Daily: Russia develops manned space program to replace ISS, Saint Petersburg, Russia (Staff Writers)
2. Huffington Post Science: Russian Space Program Will Launch Manned Mission From Own Soil In 2018, Putin Says, Denis Dyomkin