Translated material
Open Space 2020
Vladimir Putin wants to bring private business into orbit
At a meeting of the Security Council on Friday, on the eve of Cosmonautics Day, dedicated to discussing the development of the space industry before the already symbolic year 2020, President Vladimir Putin spoke in favor of Russia moving to the implementation of ambitious projects in the space sector and actively attracting private investors. “Right now we have the opportunity to really move from measures to use and support the old, Soviet space capital to the implementation of new, truly ambitious projects in the space sector,” the president said.According to the president, it is impossible to implement new projects even in such a traditionally state-secret matter as space development without the participation of business. “We need to seriously think about using in the field of space activities not only the new capabilities of the state, but also the growing opportunities of business,” Putin said, proposing to take an example from other space powers, where such “developments and projects have become a profitable object for private investment " According to him, “Russian business has grown to become a reliable partner and serious participant in the implementation of space programs.” Moreover, according to the president, there are companies very interested in commercial space exploration: in obtaining communication services, probing the Earth, and in searching for natural resources. “All this should be open to business, private capital,” Mr. Putin said.
At the same time, the problems of the Russian space industry are associated not only with a lack of funds, but also with a shortage of young specialists. “To solve these problems, it is necessary to painstakingly restore the human resources potential of the industry and carry out its deep modernization,” said Vladimir Putin.
According to him, today Russia “participates on an equal footing in international space cooperation, occupying a significant niche in the market for space products and services.” At the same time, our country has to compete with “an increasing number of states that consider space as a zone of their geopolitical interests.” In the conditions of such difficult competition, according to the president, the domestic space industry simply needs “guaranteed access to space,” for which it is necessary to “be able to carry out launches for all purposes from its own territory - from automatic Earth satellites to manned spacecraft and interplanetary stations.” Thus, Mr. Putin paid special attention to the need to create Russian cosmodromes that can provide unhindered access to space. In particular, the head of state promised that already this year funds will be allocated for the construction of the Vostochny cosmodrome in the Amur region - one of the key points of the space industry development program until 2020.
As the head of Roscosmos, Anatoly Perminov, said after the meeting, the first launch from the new launch pad will take place within a “strictly established deadline” - in 2015. At the same time, Baikonur will still be actively used - the president demanded that “no changes be made on this issue,” referring to the intergovernmental agreement concluded with Kazakhstan until 2050 on the lease of the cosmodrome.
The head of state also dwelled on the now traditional topic of the state and timing of the launch of the Russian GLONASS navigation system . The President demanded “to pay special attention to the deployment of the GLONASS system to its full complement,” work on which is not going very well so far. However, in his opinion, “the system has already started working, but efforts need to be made to make it truly global and competitive.”
It is noteworthy that the day after the Security Council meeting, the head of Roscosmos, Anatoly Perminov, openly admitted that it would not be possible to fully deploy the navigation system by 2009 within the previously agreed and personally promised timeframe to the president. “GLONASS will work on a global scale with a shift of one year, that is, in 2010,” Mr. Perminov promised, speaking at a briefing on the occasion of Cosmonautics Day.
In approximately the same vein, in January, when it first became clear that the implementation of the federal target program was not going too smoothly, a meeting of the Roscosmos board was held, where the chief curator of GLONASS, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, sharply criticized its developers.
As a result, adjustments were made to the program and sent for approval to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. Roscosmos is expecting answers from the ministries in April-May. At the same time, the space agency states that the success and timeliness of the program largely depends on an increase in funding. Apparently, the current head of state has clearly not lost interest in domestic development and will continue to support it in the new position of prime minister. “At the meeting (of the Security Council - Ed. ) all decisions were made on the Federal Target Program GLONASS, not only on financing, but also on resource support," Anatoly Perminov told reporters.