Inaugural Angara A5 launch (Credit: Khrunichev)
It took Russia about 20 years to develop its Angara rocket. Now it appears it will take 10 years for the booster to fully replace the Proton rocket.
That’s the word from Yuri Koptev, who chairs the the science and engineering council of Rostec Corporation. He predicts the venerable Proton, which first flew in 1965, won’t be phased out in favor of Angara until 2024 at the earliest.
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Vladimir Putin
While the body count of prominent critics of Leader-for-Life Vladimir Putin rose again last week, the re-nationalization of Russia’s space industry continued to gather steam with a financial move that shows the benefits of being a friend of the Russian president.
The move involved FundServisBank, which was placed in administration (bankruptcy) under the Deposit Insurance Agency. The move was portrayed as an urgent response to a banking crisis caused by western sanctions over Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and the fall in value of the ruble.
Or was it?
“From a purely economic point of view the bank has no problems … you start to wonder who is behind this,” spokesman Grigory Belkin told The Moscow Times.
Yes, who indeed might be behind it? And why?
Russian President Vladimir Putin looks over plans for Vostochny. (Credit: Roscosmos)
A couple of stories in The Moscow Times provide some insight into the re-nationalization of Russia’s space industry. One story claims the changes will create a giant black hole that will suck in billions of rubles while producing little of value. The other spotlights the firing of a prominent space analyst who dared oppose the changes.
