NEWTOWN, Conn. - The World Space Observatory spacecraft design is largely based on existing and available technologies, so the WSO will be developed through a so-called "heritage approach." The program's biggest challenge is the funding risk associated with the Russian Space Agency. However, Russia is currently heavily focused on developing its space agency to a level of international prestige. The inclusion of international partners should also buffer the program to some degree from the budget constraints of a single country. Partner nations include Ukraine and China, which also have ambitious plans for space exploration.
Another risk for the program is the recent crisis between Russia and Ukraine. This could disrupt cooperation between Russia and Ukraine, as well as between Russia an Western Europe. However, there have been no reports of any disruption in WSO work.
Russia is covering the largest chunk of the $500 million tab for the WSO, and although funding for space programs hasn't returned to the levels associated with the former Soviet Union, it has been healthy since 2004. Therefore, funding a project of this magnitude is much more plausible than it was in the past. Those factors, coupled with a heritage approach design, bode well for the WSO. Despite a positive outlook, however, the program has suffered some delays. Launch slipped from 2012 to 2014 and then again to 2016. No details regarding these delays have been made public, however, program participants continue to aim for a 2016 launch.
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