The Russian company SR Space and IT holding T1 signed an agreement on the development of a suborbital launch vehicle and its launch beyond the Pocket line on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). This will be the first Russian private rocket to reach space. It is planned to launch at the end of the year. Oleg Mansurov, CEO of SR Space, spoke about the development of the Sky rocket, the creation of satellites and the development of drones in an interview with TASS on the sidelines of SPIEF-2023.
— SR Space used to live more at the expense of investments, has the company's economic policy changed now? Has it reached self-sufficiency?
— Since last year, our economic policy has changed, the capital structure as a whole. If we were more like a venture project until 2022, that is, we lived only at the expense of investments, then about a quarter of last year's financing was revenue. And the trend continues to change. I hope that this year more than half of the financing will be dictated by the proceeds from the sales of our services and services or our products, and to a lesser extent we will depend on investors.
Although another scenario is possible. If we are invested by a large strategic partner for the long term, then, of course, the amount of investment will be several times higher than revenue.
— Which direction brings the most revenue?
— Now we have two areas that are revenue and profit generators. This is the direction of SR Data processing analysis, in which several products have been created for "smart" cities, the agricultural sector, and ecomonitoring. In addition, a new direction that we launched six months ago is actively bringing in revenue — these are various drones.
— Can you tell us more about drones, which drones have been created now?
— We are currently working on several types of drones of the aircraft scheme. One drone is used for long-range monitoring or surveillance. And there is a drone that is cheaper, it is used to monitor several kilometers for a short period of time. The main thing we focus on is software (recognition of various images, for example, crops, weeds, illegal buildings or landfills) and autopilot, so that virtually unmanned aircraft systems can operate without operator control. These are our two competitive advantages.
— It turns out that you have completely your own development — both the drone and the "stuffing"?
— We have fully developed the design and software in our drones ourselves. There are elements of our own development, but the component base is basically all foreign, that is, purchased. Yes, we are flashing it, reprogramming it.
— Tell me, are your drones purely engaged in photography or can they carry loads?
— No, we are not working with cargo now. Our main task is still surveillance and communication, because communication is also a critical technology for this kind of devices. It often happens that the connection is lost, there is no GPS or GLONASS. Drones get lost, fly somewhere wrong, crash. To avoid this, it is important to build communication both through the control system and the video channel.
— Do you mean communication with the drone itself, and not the organization of communication for subscribers?
— We are talking about controlling drones through direct control from the operator's console or through repeaters. In particular, we are now preparing for an experiment when we will be able to control an unmanned aerial vehicle using signals from space.
— Returning to the topic of drones, tell me, are your technologies used in the special operation zone? Are your drones being used?
— At the moment, our unmanned aircraft systems are not used there. They are more of a civilian nature. For this kind of application, it is necessary to develop communication technologies and counter electronic warfare.
— Do you have a lot of orders for drones now?
— Yes, we have significant growth in this direction. That is, in fact, we have now moved on to an experimental batch. If everything is successfully implemented during the summer and demonstrates itself in mass use, then we will move on to full-fledged serial production, which means that we will be talking about hundreds and thousands of pieces.
— Per month or per year?
— Per month.
— Are you developing some kind of tool that maybe helps to detect drones?
— Yes, there is such a request too. It comes from various institutions, because now the security associated with unmanned aerial vehicles worries many, including ordinary citizens. Therefore, we are working in the direction of detection. Now we already have several developments that are being tested. Most likely, within a few months there will be a release of a civilian commercial product that any citizen of the Russian Federation will be able to buy.
— Are we talking about some portable devices or is it some kind of large device?
— No, we are talking about a portable wearable device. Detection takes place approximately 500 m from a person. It is also possible to determine the direction of arrival or approach of an unmanned aerial vehicle.
— Are law enforcement agencies interested in the development?
- yes.
— Since your drones are of the airplane type, do you need some kind of runway or ejection device?
— If we are talking, for example, about the Sterkh observation drone, then it implies two types of takeoff: from a small runway, which can serve as an ordinary road, or from a catapult.
— Do you need to build any special mini-airfields for drones?
— No, we are working in the segment of very small drones with a wingspan of up to 2 m.
— Can your drones fly in a swarm?
— At the moment it is impossible, but we are working in this direction. And here just one of the main issues is the system of interaction, the same connection. To do this, we just need spacecraft that will provide such interaction and control of swarms of drones.
— Are we talking about the SR NET grouping?
— In fact, this is one of the tasks assigned to SR NET.
— How are the works in this direction progressing now? Is the first satellite ready yet? What stage is it in?
— Ground-based laboratory experiments are being conducted now. The next stage is experiments in the atmosphere, that is, using drones and stratostats. And then the onboard equipment for the space experiment is being prepared. We are currently working on a payload for the spacecraft.
— When will it be launched?
— We plan to launch the device and demonstrate the technology in the next two years.
— At the SPIEF, you presented a methane engine for the first time. Tell me, please, is it planned to be used in a reusable rocket? If so, how many flights is it designed for?
— If we talk about our tactical tasks, so far we are not talking about reusability. But in general, this kind of technology and this kind of engines allow them to be used repeatedly. They do not require much effort during maintenance or reuse. In this regard, methane is much better than kerosene: after using a methane engine, you do not need to disassemble it, clean it. This is rather the next stage of development after the implementation of the delivery of small spacecraft into orbit.
— You are planning to launch a Nebo rocket into space. Tell me, what stage is this rocket in now? Has the flight sample already been made?
— We are working in this direction. We have a major technology partner who helps us with calculations, mathematical modeling, and computing power. The project is at the stage of creating the final working design documentation. We actually started this project at the beginning of the year. Preliminary preliminary design, preliminary design was carried out. Now we are entering production and assembly. I hope that cooperation will not let us down and we will be able to complete all this in the fall. Then we will be ready to launch.
— Which cosmodrome are you planning to start from this time?
— We are considering several options: Kapustin Yar, or the Yasny Cosmodrome, or the Vostochny Cosmodrome.
— If we talk about the Vostochny cosmodrome, has communication with Roscosmos turned into a practical plane to create infrastructure there for your launches?
— No, at the moment such communication is not conducted. And it is probably premature, since all the requirements for the ground infrastructure will be clear after the first flights of our geophysical rockets.
— Tell me, will the rocket have any payload this year?
— We are preparing an experiment. It is associated with the control of unmanned aerial vehicles from space. The payload will just be transmitters and repeaters, which will be placed under the fairing of the launched rocket. Through them, it will be possible to control our drones. That is, in fact, we want not just to make drones, but to offer a comprehensive service related to their production, management, and communication transmission.
— Will only the signal be transmitted this time, or will you already control the drone right away?
— In fact, the signals or data that will be transmitted are control commands. That is, in fact, it will be a given flight scenario. And the drone has to get it and execute it.
— So this time the drone will be controlled from space?
— Yes, the experiment involves not only the launch of the rocket itself, but also the parallel launch of an unmanned aerial vehicle.
— It is the technologies that will be located in this rocket, right?
- yes. That is, it is a common complex. And the essence of this launch is not only in testing individual elements of the rocket, but also in interaction with an unmanned aerial vehicle and with a ground control system.
— Which drone will you lift?
— This is a Sterkh drone. This is our surveillance drone. Just he is able to fly up to 100 minutes at a distance of up to 15 km. Its payload is about 4 kg.
— Will the first SR NET satellite be launched with a passing load on Soyuz or on your rocket?
— The first demonstrator will definitely be launched on the Soyuz, because our space launch vehicle will be ready later than the spacecraft. But if there are any delays with the Soyuz, then perhaps we will fly on our rocket already. But this is still unlikely.
— Is the first satellite of your production to be launched a communications satellite or a remote sensing satellite of the Earth?
— The first satellite is a remote sensing satellite of the Earth. We are talking about a 16U cubesat with a multispectral camera with a resolution of about 2 m. This is largely the development of technologies. After that, we plan to switch to a submeter resolution, because it is for images with a resolution of less than a meter per pixel that there is a great demand in our country.
— When are you planning to launch a remote sensing satellite?
— Let's hope that he will fly next summer.
— How is the SR Data direction developing? Last year you planned to remove clouds from photos. Do you manage to do it or not?
— Yes, there is this service, it is part of the service for the sale and provision of images. That is, in fact, for this year from the previous SPIEF, SR Data was allocated to a separate company. She became a resident of the Sirius Space Center, created her own platform for the provision and sale of satellite images from various spacecraft and satellite groupings, mainly foreign ones. In addition, several services have been created. This is a service for a "smart" city: identifying illegal buildings and monitoring infrastructure. The second service is ecomonitoring, that is, the definition of illegal logging, illegal landfills, the consequences of natural disasters, and so on. And the third service is intended for agriculture.
— Do you help track forest fires?
— We would like to do this, but for this we need infrared probes. At the moment we have such pictures in limited quantity. One of the following services is just a service for preventing or fixing the occurrence of forest fires. In general, if we talk about SR Data development plans, then this is an increase in the number of services on the geoinformation platform that they have. The second direction of SR Data growth is the creation of its own network of stations receiving data directly from spacecraft. As part of this project, it is planned to place five such antennas in different parts of the Russian Federation.
— And where?
— It is assumed that it will be Sochi (Sirius), Murmansk, the Altai Republic, another point in the Tiksi area in the north of Yakutia and in the Vladivostok area, most likely on Russian Island.
— When are you planning to open in Sochi?
— They will open in parallel. Depends on the contract.
— If we consider SR Data, do you mainly have private or public customers?
— These are mainly private companies: agricultural holdings, banks. But as for the cities, we are now working closely with several cities, including the Moscow government. I hope that here we will reach the full implementation of this service.
— Tell me, do you use 3D printing when creating drones, rockets, maybe satellites?
— At the moment, yes, we use 3D printing. Moreover, this is most often for two types of products: the internal components of unmanned aerial vehicles and the combustion chamber and nozzle for our engine. If in the first case we are talking about various kinds of polymers, then in the second case we are talking about metal alloys.
— At what stage is the Kosmos rocket project now?
— In fact, we set ourselves an ambitious task and a short time to move from the "Sky" to the first flight of the "Cosmos" within a year. Because in fact, "Cosmos" is an enlarged version of the "Sky", working on the same principles, on the same kind of engine. And in this sense, "Sky" is a technology demonstrator.
— Have you already discussed cooperation with other private companies so that they, for example, launch their satellites on your rocket when it is ready?
— Yes, we have discussed it with several companies. There is interest. But some specifics will appear after the first successful launch. Most likely, the first orbital launch of our rocket will be with our payload. That is, we will take risks.
— To show that you are not afraid?
- yes. If you believe in your rocket, then you need to risk your own spacecraft.
— You already have a branch in Sochi, in Ryazan. Are you planning to open branches somewhere else?
— Our branches, among other things, will be those receiving stations, the ground infrastructure that I mentioned earlier, which is necessary for receiving data from spacecraft. In addition, we are also considering the Astrakhan region, if we will fully develop or launch there. But we do not have any specific and immediate plans for placement in new regions.
— And if we talk about the Astrakhan region, what is the direction there?
— There is just everything connected with the launch infrastructure in the missile direction.