MOSCOW - Russian cosmonaut says her country risks losing its space glory by continuing to rely on Soviet-era achievements and doing little to design new spacecraft.
Svetlana Savitskaya made the statement Monday as Russia was celebrating the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's mission. Gagarin became the first human in outer space on April 12, 1961.
Savitksaya, who flew two space missions in 1982 and 1984 and became the first woman to make a spacewalk, harshly criticized the Kremlin for paying little attention to space after the 1991 Soviet collapse.
Savitskaya said that while Russian spacecraft have served as the main link to the International Space Station, the Americans are working on a next-generation space ship.
