MOSCOW, November 27. /TASS/. The US State Department prevents from implementing an international project for creating the Spektr-UF space observatory, the Izvestia newspaper quotes director of Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences Boris Shustov as saying.

The US State Department imposed the ban on supplies to Russia of radiation-resistant components, which are used in radiation recording instruments. The ban affected the contract on producing radiation detectors that Russia had signed with E2V of the United Kingdom, Shustov said.

“The British are manufacturing a radiation detector themselves, but wiring ‘harness’ of radiation-resistant components is produced with the use of American parts,” he said.

“They [the British] failed to get permit for export of these parts to Russia. They tell us that they will be able to produce the necessary parts themselves, but they asked to extend the contract for 1.5 years,” Shustov said.

The Spektr-UF project is led by Russia and also involves foreign countries, including Spain and Germany. The Izvestia newspaper writes that earlier, the observatory was expected to be launched in 2016. At present, Shustov said the launch could be postponed to 2020.