The new face of the Russian space program

The plans to revise the Russian space program, first announced in late 2011, have been further refined this year all because of another in a recent row of launch failures. On August 6, two communications satellites (Express-MD2 and Telkom-3) found themselves stranded in low orbit due to a malfunction of the Proton-M launch vehicle’s Briz-M third stage. The incident proved the last straw for the country’s leadership, which then demanded an overhaul of the Russian space program.

In August and September this year, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev held special government sessions to tackle the systemic crisis in the space industry. The measures outlined by the government include retooling; increased productivity; and ensuring Russia’s global competitiveness on the space services market.

One of the crucial issues requiring immediate attention is the selection of the right technical strategy for further development of the industry. In the autumn of 2011, Federal Space Agency (Roscos­mos) head Vladimir Popovkin named the following space program priorities: applied programs, scientific research, manned space exploration, and the development of new launch vehicles. The same set of objectives was included in the draft strategy to develop Russia’s space activity through to 2030 and beyond (Strategy 2030), which was submitted to the government in March 2012.