Russia will spend 1.6 trillion roubles (50 billion U.S. dollars) on space-related activities till 2020, the Itar-Tass news agency quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin saying Friday.

Putin told a meeting dedicated to problems in the development of the space sector the funding would focus on the most promising areas, such as applied research.

Putin inspected Vostochny Cosmodrome construction in the Amur Region on Friday. It is being built to reduce Russia's dependency on the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The first launch from Vostochny is expected in 2015 and the first manned flight in 2018. Putin said the commissioning of Vostochny would be a milestone in the development of the space sector.

The president did not rule out the possibility a Ministry for Space Exploration could be established in the future.

April 12 is celebrated as the Space Day in Russia, marking the date Yuri Gagarin made the world's first manned space flight 52 years ago.

Source: Xinhua News Agency