Russians say that failures in Russian space industry are due to the lack of personnel and lack of financing. These are the main problems Russian authorities should focus on to improve the situation.
MOSCOW, April 23, 2012. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the data describing latest failed rocket launches of Russia, as well as what should be done to improve the situation.
Russians ambiguously assess the failed space launches: some Russians think it is due to the failure of Russian space program (42%); others say there is nothing special about that (49%). The older the Russians are, the more often they agree with the first statement (from 33% among 18-24-year-old Russians to 46% among elderly respondents). On the contrary, young respondents believe that the current situation is temporary (57%).
The failures in Russian space industry are caused by two main reasons: deficit of qualified personnel (16%) and lack of money (15%). Other reasons mentioned by Russians are as follows: irresponsible attitude towards space industry (10%), lack of attention to it (9%), poor equipment, faults (5% for each), crisis and misuse of funds (4% for each). Two percent believe it is a coincident. One percent thinks that the decline of aerospace industry took place as early as in 1990-s; the same share of respondents believe that this is due to the crisis in Russian science in general.
The advices that Russians offer are to increase financing (15%) and to train personnel (13%). Russians also propose to make control of industry stricter, to improve labor conditions (8% for each), to facilitate responsibility (7%), to put more attention to this industry (5%), to introduce new technologies (4%), to attract young people and to stop the brain drain (3% for each), to learn from other countries and to combat corruption (2% for each) et cet.
The initiative Russian opinion polls were conducted on April 7-8, 2012. 1600 respondents were interviewed at 138 sampling points in 46 regions of Russia. The margin of error does not exceed 3.4%.
Over the recent year or half a year Russia has conducted more than 30 space launches; six of them failed. Some believe this was due to the failure of Russian space program and due to the crisis in space industry in general. Others say that the losses are inevitable in such a complex issue; it should be mentioned that only six launches out of thirty failed. What do you personally think about that? (close-ended question, one answer) | ||||||
| Total respondents | Aged 18-24 | Aged 25-34 | Aged 35-44 | Aged 45-59 | Aged 60 and above |
This is due to the failure of Russian space program and crisis in this industry | 42 | 33 | 38 | 45 | 46 | 46 |
This is normal; failures are inevitable in space industry | 49 | 57 | 51 | 47 | 49 | 46 |
Hard to tell | 8 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 8 |
In your opinion, what caused failures in Russian space industry? (open-ended question, not more than three answers) | |
Deficit of qualified personnel, brain drain | 16 |
Lack of finance | 15 |
Neglect, irresponsibility and inattentiveness | 10 |
Lack of attention to space industry, lack of control | 9 |
Poor and old equipment | 5 |
Poor personnel training | 5 |
Faults, little tests | 5 |
Everything is plundered | 4 |
Crisis in the country | 4 |
Coincidence, nothing is guaranteed | 2 |
Everything was broken in 1990-s | 1 |
Decline in science | 1 |
Other | 1 |
Hard to tell | 28 |
What would you advise to improve the effectiveness of Russian space agency? (open-ended question, any number of answers ) | |
Invest more money into this industry | 15 |
Train personnel; attract qualified personnel | 13 |
Make control stricter, put more attention to this industry | 8 |
Increase salary; improve labor conditions | 8 |
Work harder; more responsibility | 7 |
Put more attention | 5 |
Introduce new technologies, develop sciences | 4 |
Attract young people | 3 |
Prevent brain drain | 3 |
Learn form other countries | 2 |
Fight against corruption | 2 |
Punish the guilty | 1 |
We do not need space industry now | 1 |
Other | 1 |
Hard to tell | 3 |
Note: Using materials from the site www.wciom.ru or wciom.com, as well as distributed by VCIOM, the reference to the source (or hyperlink for the electronic media) is obligatory!