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(Reuters) – Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin on Tuesday appointed the former head of Russia’s space agency, Yuri Borisov, as special presidential representative for international space cooperation.<\/p>\n
Borisov had headed Roscosmos since July 2022 in a tenure marked by the failure of a Russian moon mission and was relieved of his post earlier this month. No reason was given.<\/p>\n
A presidential decree announced his appointment as Putin’s special representative. He replaced Sergei Krikalev, a highly decorated cosmonaut who took part in six missions.<\/p>\n
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Russia has prided itself as a leading power in space since Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to go into space in 1961.<\/p>\n
But under Borisov’s mandate, an uncrewed Luna-25 spacecraft crashed onto the surface of the moon as it attempted to land. It was Moscow’s first mission to the moon in 47 years.<\/p>\n
As head of Roscosmos, Borisov had set ambitious plans for the coming years as Russia prepares to launch its own orbital space station – to replace the ageing International Space Station (ISS).<\/p>\n
Borisov was replaced as head of Roscosmos by Deputy Transport Minister Dmitry Bakanov, who before joining the government had been in charge of a satellite company.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Sandra Maler)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n