But over time, the country’s space program has suffered inconsistent funding among other issues, caused by the need for the government to stabilize other earthly issues (such as the Russian economy). The nation, which was thought to be way ahead in space technology than other countries in the world, slowly started moving away from the public limelight. Several factors have to be analyzed when a nation starts losing its dominance in a field like space science and technology. Unlike United States, which made a consistent progress in space with the increasing involvement of public and private institutions, Russia faced set back in the space race mainly due to the opaqueness in envisioning long term goals and the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in the early 90s.
Today, Russia is still trying to overcome the thread of obstacles from past events and keep the floor open for sustainable initiatives. A collaborative effort between the public and private institution has been initiated by the Russian government with the establishment of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) in 2011 in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). One of the key areas where Russia is trying to gain strong foothold is the optimization of public-private partnerships. The privatization policies in the space industry have provided appropriate positive results for USA, China and India. Therefore, Russia has a chance to revamp its position in the space sector by encouraging public-private initiatives through Skoltech.
The Soviet Union jumped out to an early lead in the very beginnings of the space race, with the first satellite, first animal of any kind, and then first human, all being launched by the USSR between 1957 and 1961. The USA was second in line to achieve a similar set of launches. Both Russia and the USA achieved several milestones in space research and development activities post-World War II. Incidentally, both countries also benefited from German rocket scientists that left post-war Germany for greener pastures in the Soviet Union or United States. In the USSR, Helmut Gröttrup was the one of the most prominent German scientists, working alongside Soviet scientists such as Sergei Korolev, creating a leading team for various rocket launchers. Gröttrup helped Korolev redesign and launch the recovered German V-2 rockets to develop missile systems for USSR. This further lead to the development of the R-7 missile, based on which the design of the Sputnik rocket was developed to launch the first man-made object in space.
The space industry’s foundation is based on the mixture of both passionate scientists and political leaders. Post-World war II, both USSR and USA were making efforts to stabilize their political and economic ecosystem. But, despite these situations, there was a sometimes-forgotten, narrow window opportunity for both the nations to cooperate in Space, in particular for the Moon Mission. On 20 Sept 1963, US President John F. Kennedy proposed a joint manned lunar mission in collaboration with the USSR. However, just two months later, the assassination of President Kennedy turned the tide of cooperation and left us forever wondering what might have been had the US and USSR cooperated to send astronauts/cosmonauts to the moon.
Reversing the time will make us realize that if both nations would have successfully cooperated in space activities, then we might have started utilizing space for peaceful activities long before the 1980s or so, which was the dawn of large-scale commercial use of space. More international collaboration may have also helped to stem the gradual decline of the Russian space industry that has occurred over the past 30 years since the fall of the Soviet Union, however this is ultimately a speculative question to which we will never know the answer.
The USSR economy was mainly driven by the government friendly policies, where private companies had a limited space to showcase their capabilities. With the natural resource revenues as the primary funding source for space industry, other factors have included a lack of public-private partnerships. Post-Soviet era, many nations saw a gradual evolution of their space industries from wholly state-dominated to being more commercial, including the emergence of public-private partnerships (PPPs) and private enterprises. Such an evolution did not happen in Russia, as funding dried up and private firms faced bureaucratic challenges in entering the space industry. At a time when the United States was working to commercialize and, to a certain extent, open up its space industry, the former Soviet Union found itself with a variety of other priorities.
Corruption has been another persistent issue for the Russian space industry. For example, several people associated with the construction of the Vostochny Space Launch center have been arrested on the charges of corruption for the past few years. Partially driven by inconsistent funding, and partially reinforced by a closed system with companies that have monopoly power, corruption has been a persistent drain on the Russian space industry.
In more recent years, Russia has been making progress towards a more balanced, modern space economy. Despite still lagging behind countries such as the US and China in terms of funding, there is a promising roadmap, through initiatives such as Skoltech, an initiative that is giving hope to talented young minds to showcase their capabilities in the space sector. Since its launch in 2011, Skoltech has partnered with various Canadian, US, and UK universities, and has built a strong client base for various projects; prominent clients include Bosch, Airbus, Huawei, Schlumberger, Total, and IBM. From an international cooperation perspective, Russia has strong and increasing cooperation with China. For example, On 26 July 2019, Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation approved the agreement between both the nations to utilize GLONASS and BeiDou systems for civil purposes. The agreement also marks the development new standards for Russian-Chinese satellite navigation systems for border traffic control and management.
On the other hand, in 2014, the Russian government promised a total of 2,315.3 billion rubles (approx. USD 38 billion, according to the average conversion rate of 2014) as funding for the ten-year space program, called as FKP-2025. Though there were a few budget cuts in 2017, there is an increase in civil and military space activities with Russian Space Agency, Roskosmos, experiencing the consistent increase revenues; that is 275.3 billion rubles in 2016 to 387.2 billion rubles in 2018. And the meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Head of Roskosmos Dmitry Rogozin on 04 February 2019, revealed the forecast of Roskomos’s revenue for 2019 that is 445.5 billion rubles.
The 21st-century world is hungrier for innovation and sustainable initiatives, with the advantages of having a strong space legacy remaining strong, but diminishing. Russia, under the leadership of President Putin, is progressing to open the gateway of opportunities for the private sector. S7 Space, Lin Industrial, Sputnix, CosmoCourse, etc. are some of the private companies that might spin the wheels of the Russian space industry towards commercialization and help the country to extend its reach in global commercial space activities. Though the global political climate presents some challenges for Russia to amplify the opportunities for the private sector, Russia’s increasing international partnerships may enable healthy growth of the private sector in the coming decade. For example, according to various news sources, by the end of 2020, Russia, Kazakhstan, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) together are set to sign an agreement to renovate the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch site based in Kazakhstan. This cooperation will also mark Russia’s space cooperation extension in the Middle East.
As the Russian space industry continues to evolve, placing more emphasis on commercial activity, international cooperation, and startups will not be easy, given the existing political, economic, and strategic considerations. However, the country’s space legacy, its technical capabilities, and its other resources provide it the necessary ingredients to play a role in the future global space economy.
About The Author
Omkar Nikam
Analyst | Space & Defense- Satellite Communication, Navigation and Earth Observation
Omkar Nikam is a Market Analyst, currently working with Orbital Gateway Consulting (OGC) in Strasbourg, France. He joined OGC as an intern in June 2018. At OGC, he works on Satellite Communication, Earth Observation, and Satellite Navigation consulting projects. Omkar is a well-rounded analyst who is not only passionate about space and defense but as well as related interdisciplinary subjects in analyzing the current age of technology-driven businesses. Before joining OGC, Omkar completed his Master in Space Studies from the International Space University in Strasbourg, France and held over three years of experience in Indian Media and Marketing industry. He is also an active participant in various space and satellite events held across Europe and the Middle East. Apart from the academic and professional engagement in space activities, Omkar actively volunteers for the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC).
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