Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Image credit: Roscosmos/Inside Outer Space screengrab

Russian President Vladimir Putin led a meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects on June 6, a gathering that involved moving forward on a number of space sector projects.

“Our rocket and space industry will have to strengthen its position as a technological flagship,” Putin emphasized.

“We are proud of the unique achievements of Soviet and Russian scientists, cosmonauts, and all specialists in the space industry. And we will definitely formulate bold, long-term plans here, set the horizon for comprehensive development for the confident work of rocket builders, spacecraft developers, and their colleagues from related sectors,” Putin said.

Russia’s Angara-A5 booster.
Image credit: Roscosmos

Updated agenda

Accordingly, Russia intends to allocate about 4 trillion 400 billion rubles to implement an updated national space project agenda, including 1 trillion 700 billion over the next six years.

Key goals include the creation of a satellite communications group, and permanent presence in the top three world leaders in the number of launches.

The launch goal is planned to be achieved through the use of reusable engines and returnable stages, and the development of spaceport infrastructure, primarily the Vostochny Cosmodrome, a Russian space launch facility in the Amur Oblast.

Highlighted in the meeting is the technology required for returning the first stage of the Angara booster and developing an oxygen-hydrogen third stage for that launcher.

Image credit: Roscosmos

Communications/Earth remote sensing

“We will continue to increase the number of communication devices in near-earth, geostationary and highly elliptical orbits. Thus, we expect to cover the entire territory of the country, including the Arctic, with stable communication channels by 2030,” First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov emphasized.

Manturov said there will the involvement of private enterprises in the production of spacecraft to further develop remote sensing of the Earth. The main goals include increasing the resolution of satellite images to values ​​comparable with competitors. Plans call for launching a system to yield remote sensing data on a commercial basis, starting in the fall of 2026.

Projected Russian orbit8ing station.
Image credit: Roscosmos/Inside Outer Space screengrab

Russia’s space station

Russia is planning to press ahead on the country’s Russian Orbital Station (ROS), following the demise of the International Space Station in 2030. At that time, the first ROS modules are to be lofted.

“It will become the world’s first drone platform equipped with robots for its maintenance,” said Manturov. “This is a patented solution of the Russian Federation. Testing the technology will allow us to apply this format to our lunar program,” he said.

Image credit: Bulletin/NPO Lavochkin

Moon, Venus initiatives

There are two separate federal projects aimed at space research : “Space Science” and “Space Atom.”

“In particular, we will have the opportunity to be the first in the world to deploy a nuclear power plant on the Moon and study the atmosphere of Venus. I would like to note that today we are the only country that has ever landed on this planet,” added the Deputy Prime Minister.