OREANDA-NEWS. Italian and Ukrainian refused to participate in the creation of the astrophysical observatory Gamma-400 intended for the study of gamma rays, so the telescope will be 100 % Russian. This was reported by project supervisor, senior researcher at the Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Arkady Galper.

“At some point, we broke off relations with our Italian colleagues. It failed to work out solely because of administrative matters. They had no financial restrictions,” he told RIA Novosti news agency. Italians were supposed to create a part of the device responsible for measuring the angle of arrival of gamma-particles.

According to the scientist, Ukraine left the programme Gamma-400 because “their scientists were recommended… in polite form not to take part in it.” Ukrainian experts intended to manufacture special gamma-particle energy detectors, as well as an apparatus for measuring the electromagnetic environment.

All these obligations will be undertaken by Russia, in particular the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Galper added.

At the same time, Russian and Belarusian academies of sciences signed a document on cooperation in the project Gamma-400.