The Russian government is considering taking control of launch services provider Sea Launch and moving it to the far east of the country.
Speaking at a briefing following a ministerial visit to the Plesetsk Space Port, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry…
The Russian government is considering taking control of launch services provider Sea Launch and moving it to the far east of the country.
Speaking at a briefing following a ministerial visit to the Plesetsk Space Port, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said that the state has instructed the Russian space agency Roscosmos and Sea Launch’s majority shareholder, Korolyov Rocket and Space Corporation Energia, to submit a joint financial and economic feasibility study into the launch services provider.
Explaining the rationale behind the study, Rogozin said: “As you know, the Sea Launch project is, of course, unique in itself. Unlike our northern testing sites and space centres, this project makes it possible to launch Russian-Ukrainian Zenit rockets with heavier payloads from southern latitudes.
“But this project is based in the United States. This means that Russia is unable to launch its own satellites in line with its national interests through RSC Energia, where it has a 38% stake. In effect, we will have to notify US authorities of our military or dual-purpose satellite launches. We consider this situation to be impossible. So this issue is rather complicated.
“If the government receives all the required information – first of all, I am talking about the entire volume of financial problems linked with the Sea Launch project – then we will be able to decide whether it is appropriate to retain control over this space launch facility or not. But something is telling me that, if we decide to go ahead with this project, then this platform should not be based in the United States.”
Rogozin then added that if Sea Launch was to be relocated it would likely be to the Russian Far East.
The main purpose of the visit to Plesetsk was to discuss the country’s space rocket industry, in particular the development of its domestic spaceports and the new Angara launch vehicle system.
Rogozin said that there are plans to build additional facilities at Plesetsk as well as complete a second launch pad at the Vostochny Space Launch Centre in Blagoveshchensk, eastern Russia.
Work began on the Vostochny Cosmodrome in early 2011 with the first rocket launches scheduled to take place in 2015. The spaceport should be fully operational by 2020.
As for the Angara rocket, the deputy prime minister said that a light-weight Angara launch vehicle will lift off at the end of the second quarter, while a heavy-duty Angara rocket will be launched in late 2014.
