keywords: sputnik moscow russian russia soviet
text: Russia Seeks Aid for Space Program By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV     MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia's space program is recovering from its post-Soviet financial meltdown, but government spending is still just a fraction of what is needed to revive the program to its former glory, top Russian space experts said Monday.    Some critics have assailed the Kremlin for allowing Russia to lose its edge in space exploration - an edge exemplified by the launch exactly 47 years ago of Sputnik, the world's first satellite...