State Commission Chairman Kiyenko on Economic Impact of Satellite Programs

This document is a page from a 1990 Joint Publications Research Service (JPRS) report containing an interview with Yuriy Pavlovich Kiyenko, the deputy chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers' Main Administration of Geodesy and Cartography. Kiyenko also served as the chairman of the State Commission for Launches and Use of Cosmos-series and Resurs-type satellites. The interview, conducted by SELSKAYA ZHIZN correspondent V. Shcherban, was published on April 12, 1990, under the rubric 'Today is the Space Program Day.' The text highlights the transition from a period of extreme secrecy surrounding Soviet spacecraft launches to a more open reporting style. The article notes that for sixteen years, the press had only reported satellite launches in dry, brief statements, often without visual confirmation beyond rear-view shots. The interview serves as an attempt to provide more transparency regarding the economic impact and utility of these satellite programs.