Dmitry Rogozin spent a little more than four years as the head of Roscosmos. Looking back now, it is clear that he managed to do a lot. In 2018, when he came to the position of head of the state corporation, the situation in the industry was not the best. Almost no year was complete without accidents during launches, the construction of the Vostochny cosmodrome was accompanied by a huge number of scandals, and the construction time was constantly increasing. One of the largest enterprises in the perimeter of Roscosmos is the GNCC named after. Khrunichev – was under the pressure of multimillion-dollar debts and hung on the verge of bankruptcy, which seemed inevitable at that time.
In four years, we have managed to move a lot from the dead point or bring it to the end. In 2019, finally waiting for the readiness from the German side, Russia launched one of its most successful scientific projects of recent times – the Spectrum-RG X-ray observatory. Last year, this project received the award. Marcel Grossman (a kind of "Oscar" in world astrophysics) for creating the most complete map of the Universe in the X-ray range at the moment.
Also, in just three years, Dmitry Rogozin managed to do something that his predecessor had not dared to do for several years. Literally in a year and a half, the MLM Nauka was brought to working condition and launched into space. This long-suffering multifunctional laboratory module for the International Space Station could not be launched since 2008.
Yes, not everything went smoothly and for eight days the MCC specialists, led by Rogozin, literally "on their teeth" brought this module to the International Space Station, solving the most complex engineering tasks. Without the readiness of the head of Roscosmos to take responsibility, this task would never have been solved. The result is known – "Science" has become one of the most important modules of the Russian segment.
Regular launches of Soyuz-2 launch vehicles have begun on Vostochny, starting from one or two launches in 2016 to five launches in 2021. Gradually, order was restored in the construction of the cosmodrome, many criminal cases were opened, the problem of paying salaries to builders was solved. A new young launch team has been prepared, the construction of the airport and buildings in Tsiolkovsky – the city where the workers of Vostochny will live - has begun.
It is worth mentioning separately about working with safety and production culture. Most of the accidents in the Russian cosmonautics of that time occurred due to negligent attitude to the construction and assembly of space technology. Gradually, we managed to sort this out and reach an accident-free series of more than eighty launches. None of them had problems with the operation of the launch vehicle, in one test, a new upper stage under development worked incorrectly.
Tourist contracts were renewed, and two Japanese tourists visited the International Space Station in 2021. One of the largest contracts in the history of cosmonautics for the launch of OneWeb satellites was won. It was possible to execute it almost completely and without misfires, although after the start of the SVO in the spring of 2022, the contract eventually had to be terminated, the last two launches never took place.
Despite all the controversy, Roscosmos, for its part, has fully implemented a joint project with Channel One, The Challenge, to create the first feature film on the International Space Station. Anyway, the whole country started talking about space.
Separately, I would like to say how Roscosmos has become closer to ordinary Russians. The launches are being broadcast, cameras have begun to be installed on the rocket for more spectacular shooting of the launch, spacewalks and landings are being broadcast – the technical process has become a spectacular and interesting show.
Yes, Dmitry Rogozin failed to implement many things, there was not enough time. Until the launch of the Russian lunar mission Luna-25 took place, cooperation on the European-Russian mission ExoMars broke off. However, the design of the Russian national orbital station ROSS has been started and is now continuing, the project was defended and funding was obtained for the Russian satellite constellation of the remote sensing "Sphere".
Despite all the problems and difficulties, including the budget cuts of the Federal Space Program, there have been many positive changes in the space industry during this time. The current Roscosmos, even taking into account the political situation in the world, is a much more stable structure than it was four years ago.
But we must admit that the situation in the world has changed a lot – and, most likely, Roscosmos will have to change after it in order to respond more effectively to the challenges facing Russia. Now Yuri Borisov, the new head, will have to do this. What are these challenges?
Firstly, the country and the Ministry of Defense require a large number of spacecraft for remote sensing of the Earth, reconnaissance and targeting. Spacecraft operating both in the optical range and radar are required. We need an efficient and convenient satellite connection, the possibility of broadband Internet access from anywhere in Russia and beyond.
Actually, the solution for most of these problems should be the work on the implementation of the project of the "Sphere" grouping. The need for such spacecraft appeared a long time ago, and its only highlighted the urgency of work in this direction.
Therefore, first of all, Russian space needs to work on low-orbit projects, both military and dual-use. Sphere spacecraft are necessary not only for the military, but also for many other industries.
The second challenge will be the problems with the import substitution of microelectronics for space purposes. The problem is not to bring these components from abroad, even with a pig, even with a scarecrow. The final task should be the unification of the entire microelectronic nomenclature and the gradual transition to Russian analogues. The task is extremely difficult, but doable.
The third problem is related to the political situation in the world. In recent months, many scientific and technical ties have collapsed, and a variety of international projects have been cut off. Only the International Space Station remained afloat, and then largely because there is simply nothing to replace it with. How to move scientific space projects in such a situation is still unclear.
And, of course, the most difficult thing in this whole situation, when it requires focusing on military and maximally practical projects in low orbit, is not to forget about other equally important areas of Russian cosmonautics – manned and scientific flights. Yes, there may be a temptation to push into a corner all the popularization and educational activities of the state corporation, especially in conditions of limited funding. It is impossible to do this, otherwise huge efforts and funds will be required to restore such seemingly secondary competencies later.
Space in Russia is a little more than just rockets and spacecraft, space for us is life, a staple, a cultural code. And we must do everything to ensure that it continues to develop.
Mikhail Kotov
scientific journalist
