Russia Tells Its Space Reporters To Stop Reporting On the Space Program (arstechnica.com) 54
FallOutBoyTonto writes: It is safe to say that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not a fan of independent media. In the run-up to elections last month, Putin declared almost every independent media organization operating inside the country a "foreign agent" to stifle dissent and criticism. The intent seems to be to destroy independent media in Russia.
Now, this campaign has been extended to coverage of space activities in Russia. The country already prohibits reporting on space activities containing classified information, but a new law extends to coverage of a variety of other space news. Essentially, any person in Russia who now reports on anything that might be even tangentially related to Russia's military activities or space activities will be labeled as a foreign agent.
Now, this campaign has been extended to coverage of space activities in Russia. The country already prohibits reporting on space activities containing classified information, but a new law extends to coverage of a variety of other space news. Essentially, any person in Russia who now reports on anything that might be even tangentially related to Russia's military activities or space activities will be labeled as a foreign agent.
Re:For some perspective... (Score:5, Informative)
But the equivalent of what you just said is that Russia would make American journalists operating in Russia to register as foreign agents.... this situation is different in that it requires ALL journalists to register as foreign agents.
Don't piss off governments... (Score:1)
https://www.reuters.com/articl... [reuters.com]
Re:For some perspective... (Score:5, Informative)
Thank you for the Russian perspective, but having to register as a foreign agent is not typical of foreign journalists. Only journalists working for foreign propaganda outlets like RT and Xinhua to register as foreign agents. [cpj.org]
This seems like a reasonable requirement for people employed by foreign governments. Requiring domestic reporters to register is unreasonable and clearly just intimidation and stigmatization.
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Plus, in the US while they have to register as one, it doesn't have any reprecussions. Russian journalists in Russia are required to include a lengthy disclaimer ahead of anything they write (no matter the platform) if the government classifies them as a foreign agent.
What makes them a foreign agent? Anyone that's received money from outside of the country which could be a government paying them, ad revenue from a foreign company, grandma sending them some money for their birthday, pretty much anything.
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Now only why don't journalists working for foreign propaganda outlets like CNN don't have to register?
Re:For some perspective... (Score:5, Informative)
Did you not even read the summary? Anyone, Russian or not, who reports on the space program must register as a foreign agent. Basically, if you are Russian and report on Roscosmos, you have to put a big "Please push me out a fifth floor window" sign on your back.
This is because Roscosmos is not a space agency, it is Dmitri Rogozin's personal slush fund, and Dmitri Rogozin is Putin's close, personal friend.
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Friends of the king are also kings.
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FARA requires a lot of people to register as "foreign agents". The difference is that, in US, such registration doesn't actually hinder their activities. In Russia, it does.
In Soviet Russia (Score:1)
The space program reports on YOU!!!
Avoid improvements by ignoring the problem (Score:5, Interesting)
Historically Russia and the USA have been on par in terms of the Space Program.
The shuttle program that the US had, was a technological success, however it was an impractical technology, this gave Russia an advantage of being the Cheaper and practical source for space travel. When the shuttle program was stopped last decade, Russia was the only player in the market.
However with the Privatized US Based Space Programs, which seem to have brought some much needed innovation and cost savings to the USA, Russia is now being shown having the aging last century Space Program, which is more expensive to operate, as well based on aging technology and more limited mission profiles.
It is getting difficult to put the Spin to show how Russia is still a big player in the space race. So instead of investing into new technologies and methods, they just silence the reporters, so they don't need to do anything new, as no one knows about the problems.
After the Shuttle program was scuttled in the US, the reporters were hard on NASA and the space program in general, making sure Americans know that they are now going to be behind everyone else in Space, thus it made a renewed attempt to get back and strong into space. By using new technologies and from new companies.
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Who cares as long as long as the boots are sexy.
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Oh great now I have to go watch that Funk Overload video on YouTube to get that song and Putin's outrageously funky boots out of my head.
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One shouldn't let your political stance get in the way on what seems to work better.
I am not some Red Hat Wearing Conservative, My politics are left of center. However the Privatized Space Programs do seem to function much better than the tightly government controlled ones. This isn't the case for everything, Private Enterprise does do better at taking risks, and innovating. However government in general has been good at maintaining and administrating.
Private Companies don't like dealing with the long t
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However the Privatized Space Programs do seem to function much better than the tightly government controlled ones.
I think one reason for that would be that the contractors for the government programs are motivated to milk the program for as long as they can while private enterprise is motivated to get shit done or they won't make any money. The USG has been struggling for decades to figure out how to make government-controlled programs work, but the contractors are much, much better at subverting them than the government is at controlling them.
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American Atlas still using Russian engines. With a success rate no one has reached yet. Rather impressing for "aging technology".
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The RL-10 says hello.
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Based on current launch rates, SpaceX should have that success rate beat in a year or two.
Congress outlawed the purchase of Russian RD-180 engines way back in 2014. ULA has announced they have used up all their stock of the engine, as of this month. So unless Russia manages to launch something (as if), there will be no more launches with the RD-180.
This has nothing to do with technology... (Score:5, Informative)
It's about crime and embarrassment.
Like some $10.5 billion pilfered through Roscosmos in 2017 alone. [translate.goog]
Also, they may be openly breaking laws with that public stunt of theirs, trying to beat Tom Cruise. [wikipedia.org]
Also, there are other issues. [rferl.org]
Re:This has nothing to do with technology... (Score:4, Informative)
On the other hand... the SLS is currently being forecasted to cost something in the region of $21.2 billion to develop, with an additional cost of $2 billion per launch. Block 1 of SLS is expected to put 95 tons [209 000lb] to LEO.
By comparison, Falcon Heavy can deliver 63.8 tons [141 000lb] to LEO, for a launch cost of $90 million for a reusable launch [and I think it's fair to say that an LEO launch should be reusable, or $150 million for an expendable launch. Musk has publicly stated that FH cost "more than $500 million" to develop but was done without government financing. Falcon Heavy is operational now and took a fraction of the time to develop.
Appreciate that these aren't apples-to-apples comparisons, but when SLS takes so much longer and costs IRO 40x more to complete - whilst re-using existing technologies - like the Shuttle Main Engines - then you have to start wondering what all the money is being spent on...
I'd be the first to agree with you that it looks like a bunch of Roscosmos employees or contractors have had their fingers in the pie. But they can't hold a candle to what the SLS consortium have achieved.
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then you have to start wondering what all the money is being spent on..
A massively inefficient development project who's main purpose it spreading the bacon across all 48 mainland states in order to guarantee continued funding by Congress.
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They can't invest in their space program. The money will just get stolen. It's the trap Putin and his KGB buddies have created for themselves. Their historical method for funding themselves (I don't just mean personally, this is an institutional behavior) has been to siphon money from other programs behind the scenes. It's how they survived the fall of the communist party as a functioning organization. Unfortunately their playbook has been picked up as standard practice so now it's built into every layer o
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"The shuttle program that the US had, was a technological success, however it was an impractical technology,"
The shuttle was a technological success like the Apple Lisa.
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The shuttle program that the US had, was a technological success, however it was an impractical technology
It was impractical - for bringing shit back from orbit - compared to what??
20 years behind SpaceX (Score:2)
Russia is 20 years behind SpaceX they do not want that reported. Ironic given that SpaceX is using technology invented and inspired by Russian rocket propulsion research.
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You are over-optimistic -- arguably, the Soviet Union was 20 years behind SpaceX when they tried to launch shuttle 'Buran' in 1984-85. The program was not successful and was abandoned. Russia's current space program is 20 years behind that of the Soviet Union.
What do they want to hide? (Score:2)
So... what Russia is actually saying is that they are planning to militarise space.
Otherwise they wouldn't have anything to hide, would they?
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Don't know how accurate this is, but according to https://www.themoscowtimes.com... [themoscowtimes.com] , it looks like this is primarily an effort to keep the Russian news media from reporting on all the graft and corruption in the Russian space program.
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familiar (Score:1)
Seems recently familiar to a certain turd constantly yelling "fake news"...
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The "Russian agent" loved all the dictators around the world. I think it was about envy. What present do you give the guy who has everything? The dissolution of the legislature and the banishment of the free press. (Aw, thanks honey, so thoughtful!)
Re: media bad (Score:4, Interesting)
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âForeign Agentâ(TM) vs âMisinformat (Score:1, Insightful)
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The actual document this is trying to retell is quite clear on the aims, what is prohibited and what is allowed. It was circulated earlier in the week. As usually we have "what is actually happening" run through a carefully crafted propaganda filter and fed to the western audience.
He needs a system... (Score:4, Insightful)
He needs a way to create an army of media which willingly functions as the propaganda arm of the government like we have here in the U.S! Freedom baby!
Not surprising (Score:2)
Russia has had a mass corruption problem scince the days of the Tzars.
Russia is a beautiful country. Too bad their politics suck.
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Re: Not surprising (Score:2)
Some are worse than others.
This is a huge shame (Score:3)
This is really a shame. When I was in Moscow a couple of years ago, I very much enjoyed my visit to the Museum of Cosmonautics [kosmo-museum.ru], which was refreshingly apolitical. And while the space race during the cold war was a huge competition, the actual people involved in the civilian space programs on all sides were often more idealistic and thought of the space programs as a step for the advancement of humanity. There's a reason that one of the most famous collaborations of the USA and the Soviet Union during the cold war was Apollo–Soyuz, part of the respective space programs.
It's a huge bummer that this type of politics has now expanded to the Russian space program. And I think it sends the wrong message. When you look at space launch providers (private and public), which ones are those that generate the most hype? Those that provide the public with lots of information in order to get them excited. And there are tons of fan sites about space exploration that help drive this. This new Russian law will suppress this type of activity in Russia, which will likely lead a lot of young people over there that are interested in space to look elsewhere.
I think this law is a good indication that there doesn't appear to be a lot of political will in Russia to actually continue to innovate in their space program, and that they're instead trying to rest on their existing laurels. I fear that this law is an indication that the Russian space program is in decline, which is very unfortunate.
GQP will imitate in 3.. 2.. (Score:2)
Where putin goes so go the right wing traitors.
Disgraceful... (Score:2)
Right wing racist transphobic climate deniers are already appearing claiming this is similar to when Google tries to stop them from profiting from their vile attempts to purvey misinformation.
It has nothing to do with that. There are heroic dissenters in Russia who are, contrary to the enforced social consensus there, seeking to shed light on the Russian space program, and the authorities are trying to stop them.
Whereas though the climate deniers here in the US claim to be just debating an open subject, th