MOSCOW - Russia has postponed the building of the AK-T space laboratory due to lack of scientific projects the station has been designed for, a Russian space agency official said Friday.

The project would be put off for two or three years, Vitaly Davydov, deputy chief of the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos, told a press briefing.

The AK-T space lab has been designed as an autonomous space vehicle capable of docking with the International Space Station (ISS) when necessary, according to local media reports.

Davydov said Russia has also canceled the building of a new carrier rocket Rus-M for lack of funds.