Russian President Vladimir Putin has endorsed a proposal to merge the Federal Space Agency -- Roskosmos, and the United Rocket and Space Corporation.
Speaking at a meeting with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in his Novo-Ogaryovo offices near Moscow on January 21, Putin said the proposal "seems right to me," but added that a new law was needed to implement the merger.
Medvdev said such a law will be prepared for debates in the parliament soon.
Medvedev added that the new entity would consolidate managerial and economic functions, which "should help resolve complicated and multifaceted problems facing the space industry."
Medvedev proposed that the current chief of the United Rocket and Space Corporation, Igor Komarov, be the new space organization's chief.
