KRASNOZNAMENSK, MOSCOW REGION, MARCH 16 (RIA NOVOSTI) - Lieutenant-General Vladimir Popovkin has been appointed Space Troops commander. Sergei Ivanov, Defense Minister, introduced him today to a gala gathering at the Main Spacecraft Testing and Control Center in Krasnoznamensk near Moscow.
Mr. Ivanov thanked the previous commander, Colonel-General Anatoly Perminov, now appointed Director General of the Federal Space Agency.
General Perminov had supervised practical work to reinstate an orbital flight group and put new installations on the alert. He honorably contributed to Space Troops progress, so now the troops are coping fine with a wide range of tasks to promote national security, research and economics, and international space efforts, said Sergei Ivanov.
