MOSCOW, Nov 6-RIA Novosti. The floating spaceport "Sea launch", owned by the S7 group, may in the future be of interest to the Ministry of defense for launching military satellites, believes Alexander Ivanov, a member of the Board of the Military-industrial Commission of Russia, who oversees the rocket and space industry.
"The question is complicated. The Rokot project also started as a commercial project and ended with military launches. Now "Sea launch" is a completely commercial project, where state assistance is needed, but in a limited amount, " he said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
At the same time, Ivanov added, the ability to conduct launches from the Sea launch platform to sun-synchronous or polar orbits from the Kuril region may arouse interest in the military. "For the defense Ministry, this orbit is quite interesting," the source said.
The Sea launch project was created in 1995. It provided for the launch of Zenit missiles from the Equatorial Pacific ocean. In 2014, the operation of the complex was suspended due to the refusal of Ukraine, where these missiles were manufactured, to supply carriers. At that time, 36 launches were conducted from the complex. In 2016, Sea launch was purchased by the S7 group for $ 150 million, hoping to resume launches. But, having not received permission to purchase Zenit missiles, in 2020 it moved the complex from the United States to Russia. Now the command ship and the launch platform are located at the Slavyansk ship repair plant. Roscosmos offers a new Soyuz-5 rocket for use from Sea launch, and S7 has started developing its own light rocket.
In August, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said that the sea launch center could resume launches in 2023-2024.