In April 2020, General Director of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, accused Rasah in dumping on the international market of launch services. The official statement illustrated Dmitry Loskutov, head of the “glavkosmos launch Services” (GPU), a subsidiary of the state Corporation in charge of promoting Russian rocket “Soyuz-2” in foreign markets. Manager in a series of posts on Twitter told about the amounts that Rasah spends on lobbying in the US, and a different value of the services of this company for NASA and foreign customers. In conclusion, protracted debate Rogozin said that if the development of media family “Angara” was promptly spent at least a quarter of the funds that SpaceX has spent on the creation of a heavy rocket, the Falcon 9, the first “would come”. “Ribbon.ru” talks about the reasons of such statements of the Russian state managers.
According to the head of the state Corporation, the market price of the unused start-up Falcon 9 is about $ 60 million for foreign customers, while NASA this service costs 1.5-4 times more expensive. A specific assessment has tried to do in the GPU. According to the calculations of the Russian company, technology mnogorazovogo from an economic point of view is justified only in the case of “anchor” customer of launch services in the domestic market, which in the case of SpaceX are NASA and the air force (USAF) US. Also the GPU believe that the cost of insurance payments to carriers, the Falcon 9 does not exceed the indicators for Ariane 5 rockets for the European operator Arianespace and the American Atlas V Alliance United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
Attacks “Roscosmos” to the American competitors deal exclusively with SpaceX, but does not affect American companies such as ULA and Northrop Grumman. The reason the Russian state Corporation for a lot of money sells to U.S. rocket engines from the Scientific production Association (NPO) “Energomash”, which is crucial for the survival of Russian enterprises. The RD-180 engine gets the first step of a heavy vehicle Atlas V from ULA, while the power unit of the RD-181 is set to the average Antares rocket from Northrop Grumman. It is not surprising that in January of 2018, the General Director of “Energomash” Igor Arbuzov acknowledged that his company is in a strong financial dependence on the U.S. orders. According to him, export contracts for more than half of the revenues of NGOs, while the rest is in order. Then Arbuzov said bluntly that the main revenues of the company is the supply of RD-180 and RD-181 in the United States.
Currently, a similar assessment of the representatives of “Roscosmos” has almost ceased to be imposed in public space, that is probably due to the advent of��m in June 2018 “code of ethics and business conduct of the employee of state Corporation”. This order actually censoriously contacts official employees of the Russian space industry with the press, appeared two months after “Roscomos” changed direction. In particular, the code States that an employee of the Corporation must “refrain in public statements and publications, including in the media, from the designation value in a foreign currency (conditional monetary units) on the territory of the Russian Federation of goods, services and other objects of civil rights”.
It must be noted that the last statements of management of the Corporation, unlike the previous one, especially contradict themselves. First, oddly enough by the GPU, direct the task of promoting medium sized “Soyuz-2”, to get involved in a discussion about pricing on the Falcon 9 heavy, competing with the same heavy “proton-M” and “Angara-A5”. Watching the loss of “proton-M” of the international market, it can be assumed that the Russian ISP decided to begin early to criticize Falcon 9 instead of doing their job, the promotion of “Soyuz-2” in foreign markets, thus preparing to explain its ineffectiveness dumping SpaceX. Secondly, as already mentioned, it is inappropriate to explain the rejection of a certain “Association” with Rasah the fact that this company is a contractor of the Pentagon. For example, in may 2020, the Pentagon with the help of Atlas V plans to launch reusable spacecraft X-37, in which the Corporation directly called medium weapons.
“We, therefore, shall avoid any public statements, but understand that this can be, and it is likely that weapons of mass destruction, if not God forbid, it will be placed in space, it can plan from the top” — told about the X-37 in October 2018 Rogozin.
Despite this statement, in April this year, a reminder about the use of RD-180 Americans for military purposes, the official said that “a mug of capitalism in all its glory”.
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The proposal of “Union” came in the context of the possible participation of Russia in creation of a system of earth satellites Starlink deployed SpaceX, that categorically is goskorporatsii actively lobbying their own project “Sphere”. In July 2018 “Tape.ru” wrote that in creating the Russian group will probably participate “Gazprom space systems” (GSS), headed by Dmitriy Sevastiyanov, whose brother, Nicholas, in January 2006, promised the appearance in 2015 of the Russian base on the moon, where in 2020 could begin mining helium-3. In onstanding time Nikolai Sevastyanov holds the position of General Director of Rocket and space Corporation (RKK) “Energy”, and GCS, as of November 2019, reported RIA Novosti, started construction in the suburban town of Shchelkovo factory to build the satellites “Spheres”. The total cost of this system is estimated at 540 billion, and it is unknown what portion of this amount will be received by the company, headed by Sevastyanov.
Despite the high accident rate of Russian satellites, the Corporation many large manufacturers such spacecraft, the financial situation leaves much to be desired, in connection with the participation in the GCS project “Roscosmos” there is, at best, a conflict of interest. Of course, the Corporation can always say that GCS is a private company, which decided to support the “Roscosmos”, but this fact does not clarify the above question. Nevertheless, the background noise for the discussion of the financial aspects of the Russian state and a private American space, there are much more important questions connected with the immediate future first.
the Hole and shrubs
In April, RIA Novosti, referring to available to the Agency the records of the Corporation, said that Roskosmos wanted 2.5 times to increase financing of development work “Cupid”, in which on the cosmodrome “East” must be a complex of a heavy class rocket Angara family. Thus shortly before the Corporation declared that because of the dumping Rasah 39 percent lowered the cost of Russian launch services. In this regard, the question arises — who will pay for such promises of “Rosatom”? The answer to the above question directly shapes the future of the Russian cosmonautics.
Currently, launch vehicle produced in Russia two companies — the Moscow Khrunichev Center and the Samara space-Rocket center (RCC) “Progress”. Latest venture, producing light and medium Soyuz rockets, are still considered the most financially stable company of “Roscosmos”. By the end of 2019, the missiles were launched 18 times against 5 launches of “proton-M” at the Khrunichev Center. In 2018, the “Unions” flew 16 times against two launches of “proton-M”. You would think that the quality of the Khrunichev Center has dramatically improved, but it is not — in April RIA Novosti, citing a source in the rocket and space industry, announced that three located at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the rocket “proton-M” for the detection of defective parts sent for replacement components back to Moscow. The Corporation traditionally declared��that the defective rocket was fired several years ago, and currently in quality control allowed timely detection of such problems.
This is hardly surprising — the Khrunichev Centre on the development of disposable rockets of family “Angara” for more than a quarter of a century spent more than three billion dollars, although at the same time carriers of this family (in the light and heavy versions in 2014) flew only twice. Currently Khrunichev Center is the most unprofitable enterprise of the Corporation, the debts of which exceed 80 billion rubles, and Rogozin urges Russian space industry to find a use for the “Angara”, which has repeatedly called hopeless.
Support Angara receives as a result of the lobbying, in the terminology of Loskutov, the Corporation interests of the Khrunichev Centre to the detriment of the RCC “Progress”. Despite the fact that the missile in its heavy version is still not satisfied with the defense Ministry of Russia, the Moscow firm Omsk on “Flight” 2024 plans to produce eight of these missiles a year. Apparently, the current value of the start “Angara-A5” the Corporation is not frightened, because to compete on the international market with the Falcon 9 why then have media enterprises Samara, not Moscow.
One would assume that the RCC “Progress”, which in 2020-ies to start producing moderate “Soyuz-5” (“Irtysh”) and heavy “Yenisei” has sufficient funds in such development, but it is not. Unlike squandered on the creation of “Angara” three billion, for the development of “Soyuz-5” allocated 60 billion rubles. With the change of leadership of the state Corporation in may of 2018 decided to launch an advanced manned spacecraft “eagle” (formerly the “Federation”) in the “Hangar”, not “Union-5”. Although the current carrying capacity of recent media is not enough to bring a manned spacecraft to the moon, features the first rocket to do this, too, is not enough. Meanwhile, the capacity of both missiles can be enough to launch the “eagle” to the International space station (ISS), and the claimed value of the “Soyuz-5” (less than $ 40 million) lower than the price of “Angara A5” (100 million dollars). The answer to the question: “Why pay more?” — suggests itself.
Moreover, since the future of the “Soyuz-5” directly connected with Kazakhstan (the country needs to Fund start-table “Irtysh” at Baikonur), then it is possible that any complications in the relations between the two countries may adversely affect the joint project. One would hope for mass production Russian Falcon 9, but it is not — after completion of flight tests, scheduled for the first half of the 2020-ies, it is planned to produce only one “Soyuz-5” in the year.
Practically, this means that while Roscosmos, infusing huge financial flows, trying to “save” the last few years in the verge as the Center Khrunichev, another Russian company, “Progress”, providing the majority of Russian missile launches, is exactly in the state that provides the necessary production, but no more. In this we can clearly see by looking at the published “Roscosmos” video enterprises, for example, the March movie production elements of the “Soyuz-5” in Samara RCC in the interiors of the room, from the walls of which falls off peeling paint, as well as reading the last message of the Samara press about regular corruption scandals in the “Progress” and mass layoffs of employees.
“We didn’t touch then that Bush, who is associated with manned space flight is the perimeter of the Samara center for cooperation”, — said in may 2016 Rogozin, commenting on the postponement of the first launch from “Vostochny”, the incident technically the fault of the Scientific production Association “Avtomatika”. Now began to “touch”.
the he Who works not, eats
Based on the foregoing, the statement of the Corporation on reducing the cost of Russian launch services, should be read as the sentence “Progress”, and a word about the dumping of the SpaceX — as justification for the Corporation’s own financial and technological inefficiency. Currently the cost of one of the rockets family “Soyuz-2” is less than $ 20 million. For example, in may 2019, Roskosmos, over 10.4 billion rubles, ordered from the “Progress” eight rocket “Soyuz-2.1 a” to be used for launches of manned spacecraft “Soyuz MS” and trucks “Progress of MS” to the ISS. Unfortunately, the designated amount increases the upper stage “Fregat” and service launch infrastructure, resulting in the cost of the launch vehicle is approaching 40 million dollars. For this reason, as well as increased, compared to the base rocket stages (in the case of “Soyuz-2”), accidents, the use of upper stages as part of the advanced Russian missiles should have been kept to a minimum.
The estimated margin of the RCC from the production of “Soyuz-2” will not exceed two to three percent, which is insufficient not only for any serious development of the Samara enterprises, but also painting oblepias the walls of the plant. Under the circumstances, when-earned “Progress” actually distributed “Roscosmos” in favor of the Khrunichev Centre, the function of the first — uninterrupted supply launches “Souza��” to the ISS while NASA’s need to maintain “international prestige” of Russia, the holding company launcher at the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana and the support of the remnants of the state defense order. While maintaining the current support of the Khrunichev Centre by mid 2020-ies the need for “Progress” will disappear, and the company will be on the rights of the Assembly plant branch to integrate into a newly created missile holding or to close unnecessary.
Eight years ago, has already expressed plans to join the Center Khrunichev and “Progress” in the unified “Russian rocket-space Corporation”. Then Samara plant became concerned about the possibility of absorption of Moscow. Seven years ago, the RCC stated that the merger if takes place, not in the form of merger. What has led to such a Union missile companies yesterday, is exemplified by the Center Khrunichev today. However, the creation of a missile holding, the third such Association in the framework of the Corporation after the completion of the reform engine and spatialreference industries, is one of the main objectives of “Roscosmos”.
It aims to bring the RCC “Progress” to correct unacceptable financial and economic condition in the project, which is directly connected to the enterprise, introduced the Center Khrunichev. Moscow plant has no competence in the production of extra-heavy media that since the USSR was produced in Samara (talking about the missiles N-1 and Energia), and the backbone of highly skilled rocket scientists associated with Moscow plant, is profitable near Moscow Scientific-production Association of machine building that Rogozin would like to add to the “Roscosmos”. It is in the problem of low qualification of specialists of the Khrunichev Centre, which the second decade developing the upper stage kvtk (oxygen-hydrogen heavy class) for “Angara”, and are structural defects of the carriers of this family.
It should be noted that under the current situation, the position of the RCC “Progress” will only get worse. In addition to the above reasons, these developments will accelerate the bankruptcy of the company OneWeb satellites which must be run rockets Samara enterprises as well as the loss of RSC Energia monopoly in delivering people to the ISS. The question of what is wrong with the company that issues created by Sergey Korolev rocket and why is it, providing Russian manned launches, but gets nothing in return, unlike the Khrunichev Center, squandered the budget funds just actualizarea eyes. The difference obtained RCC “Progress” and the Khrunichev Center financial��of funding especially sharp contrast with a share that media companies take on the international market.
Undoubtedly, Russia needs a heavy medium, but the price when it is taken for the Khrunichev Center, is unacceptably high. It is unlikely that the RCC “Energy” and RKTs “Progress” will fit in the 60 billion rubles, which is necessary to build “Soyuz-5”, but this is not required. It should be noted that the development pursues the most recent stated goals of competition from SpaceX, which Roskosmos, finally lost, or superheavy carrier “Yenisei” and the support of the Moscow region Energomash, the manufacturer of rocket engines RD-180, abandoned US. That is, in this case, the decorative function that are currently performed by the RCC “Progress”, participating in the realization of ephemeral projects, it is unlikely in the near future will give specific meaning to the existence of the Samara enterprise, yet which produces missiles launched from four spaceports in three countries on two continents.
