"Roskosmos" is not threatened by sanctions, but by private American companies
The West has long been discussing various options for toughening sanctions against Russia because of the crisis in Ukraine. So far, only the United States has gone for the introduction of sanctions, which are not limited to the sanctions lists against officials and heads of state-owned companies. Apparently, the incident with the Malaysian Boeing will be the starting point for toughening sanctions from the US and the EU. Currently, in the tragedy that has happened, the West, though indirectly, blames Russia. In this case, the rhetoric of the leaders of European countries is becoming tougher. On July 23, it was reported that German Chancellor Angela Merkel was in favor of toughening sanctions against Russia.
Against this background, disputes continue in Russia about how detrimental restrictive measures for one or another sector of the economy can turn out for our country and what consequences this may have. Igor Komarov, Director General of the United Space Rocket and Space Control Complex (United Rocket and Space Corporation), talking to Kommersant journalists, noted that if the United States refused to buy Russian RD-180 rocket engines for Atlas V missiles, Energomash’s products could be unclaimed in the domestic Russian market.
It is worth noting that this rocket engine was originally developed in our country for the American Atlas missiles. According to the executive director of NPO Energomash, Vladimir Solntsev, when the Americans realized that it was very expensive to solve all space tasks using space shuttles, they decided to create cheaper and simpler disposable rockets. So, for their new Delta IV rocket, they created the engine themselves, but for the Atlas family of rockets, they ordered the engine from the Glushko Scientific and Production Association Energomash. According to the technical project, a completely new engine was created at the Russian enterprise - the RD-180 with the 400 ton burden. This engine along with the Russian weapons can be safely attributed to the samples of the most high-tech Russian exports.
The final choice in favor of the Russian rocket engine for the first stage of the Atlas V rocket was made on the basis of the results of the competition. The winner was precisely the RD-180, which had the most advanced technical characteristics. The engines have proven their high reliability, as confirmed by the 46 successful launches of the Atlas V rocket, the last of which took place on 22 in May of 2014. At one time, all necessary permits were obtained for interaction with American partners in the development of rocket technology by the Energomash enterprise.
Moreover, not so long ago, an American court imposed a restriction on the acquisition of these rocket engines. Igor Komarov told what kind of arguments, when making this decision, the court was guided. According to him, it was connected not so much with the foreign policy situation in the world, the position of the State Department or the sanctions against Russian officials, but with the position of a private American company SpaceX. This company over the past few years has managed to achieve significant success in space. A private company sued Lockheed Martin Corporation and the United States Air Force, accusing them of acquiring engines from the Russian company Energomash, and the proceeds from their sale go to individuals included in the State Department's sanction lists. At the same time, the head of the ORCC explained that the SpaceX company was referring to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.
During the week lawyers in court had to prove the fact that NPO Energomash is a state-owned company, and funds from the sale of its products cannot be received by individuals. As a result of 8 in May 2014, restrictions on the Russian company were completely removed. After that, the American partners expressed interest in further cooperation and the purchase of Russian engines in the future. At the same time, Komarov noted that it is not worth excluding the political factor and its influence from these relations.
According to Komarov, because of the uncertain political situation and possible sanctions, some space projects are under threat. For example, the acquisition of Zenit missiles from Yuzhmash from Dnepropetrovsk. These two-stage medium-class launch vehicles are produced in Ukraine, with 70% of component missiles produced in Russia at NPO Energomash and RSC Energia. Igor Komarov noted that deliveries from the Yuzhmash enterprise under previously concluded contracts continue to be carried out, as such, there is no break in relations now. Komarov explained that the manager, who is responsible for the implementation of these Russian-Ukrainian contracts, should correctly evaluate their implementation in terms of the occurrence of possible risks. It is necessary to assess the future of this project in order to understand how our Ukrainian partners are able to fulfill their obligations.
Under the conditions of possible sanctions, ORKK leadership is forced to revise the strategy of cooperation not only with Ukrainian enterprises, but also with all Russian foreign partners. According to Komarov, not one and not two countries are participating in cooperation today - today not a single state produces fully the entire required product range for creating space products. “I believe that the geography of supplies that currently come from America will change in the next few years. And if the sanctions continue and increase, the geography of supply will undergo major changes. At the same time, not only our country is interested in the stable and normal implementation of existing projects, ”said the head of the URQM. According to Igor Komarov, at present the Russian Federation has to work out a strategy of interaction with our partners, which would determine the work on 15-20 years in advance.
For example, at present, more than 70% of all radiation-resistant elements of the electron-component base of domestic satellites are produced in America. After Washington accepted a ban on the supply of components in Russia, the ORCC immediately had to face a number of problems. Igor Komarov believes that in the short term, such bans can create certain problems for us, but now we are modifying a number of elements and resolving the issue of import substitution in order to bring all already started projects to a logical conclusion. At the same time, in the long term, Russia will no longer have reasons to relax and hope that our foreign partners in the field of space exploration will continue to be ready to supply us with their products, and we will not be able to continue to pay attention to the need to develop innovative and key new technologies in our country. At the same time, Komarov did not specify where exactly Russia would buy the necessary chips at the present time.
The Ukrainian political crisis, which escalated into full-fledged hostilities in the east of the country, as well as the increased tension between Washington and Moscow, threaten Russian-American cooperation in space, which had not been previously interrupted even during the Cold War. At the same time, many political decisions today are tied to the interests of space corporations from the United States, primarily with commercial interests. In particular, after the States imposed a ban on the delivery of American-made spacecraft to the Russian Federation, as well as those in which the US-made components are used, some European projects were automatically banned. For example, the Turkish satellite Turksat 4B or Astra 2G is the telecommunications spacecraft of the Luxembourg company SAS.
Against this background, the statement by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin about the possibility of stopping the supply of RD-180 rocket engines for military launches forced the US Congressmen to send additional funds to create their own rocket engines. In addition, the competition between SpaceX and the United Launch Alliance Corporation (ULA), which has an exclusive contract with the Pentagon to launch Atlas missiles, has intensified. The rivalry resulted in the same court decision to ban the purchase of Russian engines RD-180, which, however, was withdrawn.
At the same time, the Russian threat voiced by the refusal of American delivery to the ISS using the Soyuz spacecraft most likely prompted the private company, SpaceX, to speed up work on the reusable Dragon V2 manned spacecraft, which has already been presented to the general public. It is assumed that this device already in 2016 year will be able to take over the functions of the delivery of American astronauts to orbit.
At present, the Russian Soyuz spacecraft is the only available means of delivering astronauts onboard the ISS. In 2013, the United States and Russia signed a contract for a total amount of 424 million dollars. According to this contract, Roscosmos undertakes to deliver teams of astronauts from 6 to the ISS and back to Earth before June of the 2017 year. The previous contract, which was concluded in the 2011 year, cost the American side even more expensive - more than 753 million dollars. At the same time, the United States simply does not have its own means of delivering astronauts to the ISS.
A high-ranking source of the Kommersant publication in the Russian government does not exclude the possibility that, by imposing sanctions on our country, NASA expects to receive the consent of Congress to increase the amount of agency funding. In 2015, 848 million dollars should be allocated for the resumption of commercial launches; however, after the announcement of the termination of cooperation with Russia, the agency expects to receive another 171 million dollars. It was this amount that reduced the budget of the American Space Agency in the 2014 fiscal year.
The competitor of the Russian Soyuz, the new reusable transport vehicle Dragon V2, was recently officially announced by SpaceX. The novelty was represented personally by the head of the company Elon Musk. According to him, the new ship will be able to land at any place on our planet with the accuracy of an ordinary helicopter. At the same time, his capsule will be able to accommodate up to 7 astronauts, the device will be able to be in orbit for several days. Musk also said that SuperDraco engines used on it are capable of producing 7,2 tons of traction.
The spacecraft Dragon V2 is able to dock automatically to the board of the ISS. He does not need to use a robotic arm, as it was on the first Dragon Slot, which could not dock without it. At the same time, the insides of the Dragon V2 are extremely simple and not cluttered with unnecessary equipment. On the walls of the device are monitors with a large diagonal and intuitive interface. The device is the development of its predecessor, who has already managed to make 3 flight to the ISS, starting in October 2012. Earlier, NASA hoped that the new model would fly in the 2017 or 2018 year, but the situation in the world could speed up these deadlines.
At the same time, the US State Department assures that they expect to maintain cooperation with Russia in the space sector, especially on the ISS project. "We have a long story cooperation in space. And we hope that it will continue. We are still continuing to cooperate in a number of areas, ”Jen Psaki noted in mid-May.
Information sources:
http://www.newsru.com/russia/09jun2014/orkk.html
http://vpk.name/news/108268_kosmos_vroz.html
http://www.rg.ru/2014/04/03/solncev.html
http://www.computerra.ru/100187/spacex-predstavil-novyiy-kosmicheskiy-korabl-dragon-v2
http://ria.ru/world/20140513/1007661372.html
Against this background, disputes continue in Russia about how detrimental restrictive measures for one or another sector of the economy can turn out for our country and what consequences this may have. Igor Komarov, Director General of the United Space Rocket and Space Control Complex (United Rocket and Space Corporation), talking to Kommersant journalists, noted that if the United States refused to buy Russian RD-180 rocket engines for Atlas V missiles, Energomash’s products could be unclaimed in the domestic Russian market.
It is worth noting that this rocket engine was originally developed in our country for the American Atlas missiles. According to the executive director of NPO Energomash, Vladimir Solntsev, when the Americans realized that it was very expensive to solve all space tasks using space shuttles, they decided to create cheaper and simpler disposable rockets. So, for their new Delta IV rocket, they created the engine themselves, but for the Atlas family of rockets, they ordered the engine from the Glushko Scientific and Production Association Energomash. According to the technical project, a completely new engine was created at the Russian enterprise - the RD-180 with the 400 ton burden. This engine along with the Russian weapons can be safely attributed to the samples of the most high-tech Russian exports.
The final choice in favor of the Russian rocket engine for the first stage of the Atlas V rocket was made on the basis of the results of the competition. The winner was precisely the RD-180, which had the most advanced technical characteristics. The engines have proven their high reliability, as confirmed by the 46 successful launches of the Atlas V rocket, the last of which took place on 22 in May of 2014. At one time, all necessary permits were obtained for interaction with American partners in the development of rocket technology by the Energomash enterprise.
Moreover, not so long ago, an American court imposed a restriction on the acquisition of these rocket engines. Igor Komarov told what kind of arguments, when making this decision, the court was guided. According to him, it was connected not so much with the foreign policy situation in the world, the position of the State Department or the sanctions against Russian officials, but with the position of a private American company SpaceX. This company over the past few years has managed to achieve significant success in space. A private company sued Lockheed Martin Corporation and the United States Air Force, accusing them of acquiring engines from the Russian company Energomash, and the proceeds from their sale go to individuals included in the State Department's sanction lists. At the same time, the head of the ORCC explained that the SpaceX company was referring to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.
During the week lawyers in court had to prove the fact that NPO Energomash is a state-owned company, and funds from the sale of its products cannot be received by individuals. As a result of 8 in May 2014, restrictions on the Russian company were completely removed. After that, the American partners expressed interest in further cooperation and the purchase of Russian engines in the future. At the same time, Komarov noted that it is not worth excluding the political factor and its influence from these relations.
According to Komarov, because of the uncertain political situation and possible sanctions, some space projects are under threat. For example, the acquisition of Zenit missiles from Yuzhmash from Dnepropetrovsk. These two-stage medium-class launch vehicles are produced in Ukraine, with 70% of component missiles produced in Russia at NPO Energomash and RSC Energia. Igor Komarov noted that deliveries from the Yuzhmash enterprise under previously concluded contracts continue to be carried out, as such, there is no break in relations now. Komarov explained that the manager, who is responsible for the implementation of these Russian-Ukrainian contracts, should correctly evaluate their implementation in terms of the occurrence of possible risks. It is necessary to assess the future of this project in order to understand how our Ukrainian partners are able to fulfill their obligations.
Under the conditions of possible sanctions, ORKK leadership is forced to revise the strategy of cooperation not only with Ukrainian enterprises, but also with all Russian foreign partners. According to Komarov, not one and not two countries are participating in cooperation today - today not a single state produces fully the entire required product range for creating space products. “I believe that the geography of supplies that currently come from America will change in the next few years. And if the sanctions continue and increase, the geography of supply will undergo major changes. At the same time, not only our country is interested in the stable and normal implementation of existing projects, ”said the head of the URQM. According to Igor Komarov, at present the Russian Federation has to work out a strategy of interaction with our partners, which would determine the work on 15-20 years in advance.
For example, at present, more than 70% of all radiation-resistant elements of the electron-component base of domestic satellites are produced in America. After Washington accepted a ban on the supply of components in Russia, the ORCC immediately had to face a number of problems. Igor Komarov believes that in the short term, such bans can create certain problems for us, but now we are modifying a number of elements and resolving the issue of import substitution in order to bring all already started projects to a logical conclusion. At the same time, in the long term, Russia will no longer have reasons to relax and hope that our foreign partners in the field of space exploration will continue to be ready to supply us with their products, and we will not be able to continue to pay attention to the need to develop innovative and key new technologies in our country. At the same time, Komarov did not specify where exactly Russia would buy the necessary chips at the present time.
The Ukrainian political crisis, which escalated into full-fledged hostilities in the east of the country, as well as the increased tension between Washington and Moscow, threaten Russian-American cooperation in space, which had not been previously interrupted even during the Cold War. At the same time, many political decisions today are tied to the interests of space corporations from the United States, primarily with commercial interests. In particular, after the States imposed a ban on the delivery of American-made spacecraft to the Russian Federation, as well as those in which the US-made components are used, some European projects were automatically banned. For example, the Turkish satellite Turksat 4B or Astra 2G is the telecommunications spacecraft of the Luxembourg company SAS.
Against this background, the statement by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin about the possibility of stopping the supply of RD-180 rocket engines for military launches forced the US Congressmen to send additional funds to create their own rocket engines. In addition, the competition between SpaceX and the United Launch Alliance Corporation (ULA), which has an exclusive contract with the Pentagon to launch Atlas missiles, has intensified. The rivalry resulted in the same court decision to ban the purchase of Russian engines RD-180, which, however, was withdrawn.
At the same time, the Russian threat voiced by the refusal of American delivery to the ISS using the Soyuz spacecraft most likely prompted the private company, SpaceX, to speed up work on the reusable Dragon V2 manned spacecraft, which has already been presented to the general public. It is assumed that this device already in 2016 year will be able to take over the functions of the delivery of American astronauts to orbit.
At present, the Russian Soyuz spacecraft is the only available means of delivering astronauts onboard the ISS. In 2013, the United States and Russia signed a contract for a total amount of 424 million dollars. According to this contract, Roscosmos undertakes to deliver teams of astronauts from 6 to the ISS and back to Earth before June of the 2017 year. The previous contract, which was concluded in the 2011 year, cost the American side even more expensive - more than 753 million dollars. At the same time, the United States simply does not have its own means of delivering astronauts to the ISS.
A high-ranking source of the Kommersant publication in the Russian government does not exclude the possibility that, by imposing sanctions on our country, NASA expects to receive the consent of Congress to increase the amount of agency funding. In 2015, 848 million dollars should be allocated for the resumption of commercial launches; however, after the announcement of the termination of cooperation with Russia, the agency expects to receive another 171 million dollars. It was this amount that reduced the budget of the American Space Agency in the 2014 fiscal year.
The competitor of the Russian Soyuz, the new reusable transport vehicle Dragon V2, was recently officially announced by SpaceX. The novelty was represented personally by the head of the company Elon Musk. According to him, the new ship will be able to land at any place on our planet with the accuracy of an ordinary helicopter. At the same time, his capsule will be able to accommodate up to 7 astronauts, the device will be able to be in orbit for several days. Musk also said that SuperDraco engines used on it are capable of producing 7,2 tons of traction.
The spacecraft Dragon V2 is able to dock automatically to the board of the ISS. He does not need to use a robotic arm, as it was on the first Dragon Slot, which could not dock without it. At the same time, the insides of the Dragon V2 are extremely simple and not cluttered with unnecessary equipment. On the walls of the device are monitors with a large diagonal and intuitive interface. The device is the development of its predecessor, who has already managed to make 3 flight to the ISS, starting in October 2012. Earlier, NASA hoped that the new model would fly in the 2017 or 2018 year, but the situation in the world could speed up these deadlines.
At the same time, the US State Department assures that they expect to maintain cooperation with Russia in the space sector, especially on the ISS project. "We have a long story cooperation in space. And we hope that it will continue. We are still continuing to cooperate in a number of areas, ”Jen Psaki noted in mid-May.
Information sources:
http://www.newsru.com/russia/09jun2014/orkk.html
http://vpk.name/news/108268_kosmos_vroz.html
http://www.rg.ru/2014/04/03/solncev.html
http://www.computerra.ru/100187/spacex-predstavil-novyiy-kosmicheskiy-korabl-dragon-v2
http://ria.ru/world/20140513/1007661372.html
Information