The Russian space agency has dropped plans to construct a new Rus-M carrier rocket by 2015, Roscosmos head Vladimir Popovkin said on Friday. “We have come to the conclusion that we do not need a new rocket, we can continue using those we already have,” Popovkin said. The two-stage Rus-M, intended to replace Russia’s ageing Soyuz carrier rockets, was being developed by the Energia space corporation, which had already received 800 million rubles (more than $24.8 million) of budget funds for the project. Read More
