MOSCOW, December 7 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Federal Space Agency said Wednesday it was not yet ready to take over the Gagarin Astronaut Training Center from the Defense Ministry.
Agency President Anatoly Perminov said the center would first have to be reconfigured into a non-military structure, a task to be fulfilled in several stages.
Placing the agency in charge of the training center is part of the government's plan to form a single astronaut corps, one of the priorities of its space program for the coming decade.
It also plans to replace the Soviet-era Soyuz rocket, and prepare for a manned mission to Mars.
