Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 15, 2024

Geostrategy-Direct

By Richard Fisher

Despite its many self-inflicted crises and its increasing political-economic subordination to China, Russia is still striving for a superpower level space program with ambitions to compete with the United States and China on the Moon.

But in addition, Russia’s space program is growing less transparent than its post-Cold War heyday, with an increase in deception and the prospect for surprises.

Vladimir Putin’s two-plus year horrific war against Ukraine, with imperial pretensions that could extend this war to other European countries, has necessitated funding diversions away from Russian space programs, while also isolating it internationally, save for a thin line of cooperation on the International Space Station (ISS), and its growing space alliance with China.

So far, it is known that funding diversions have forced the suspension of Russia’s 100 ton to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) super heavy space launch vehicle (SLV) Yenisei, that would have been its main independent-of-China transport to the Moon.

This is important as on Nov. 15, 2023, Russian media reported that the rocket company RKK Energia was planning for Russia to achieve a manned Moon landing and to build a lunar base after 2031.

Absent a powerful SLV, Russian Cosmonauts would be reliant on Chinese Long March-10 rides to the Moon, a likely affront to Russian pride.

Lack of funding and corruption delayed the completion of the new Vostochniy Cosmodrome space launch base intended to succeed the rent expensive Baikonur Cosmodrome in Khazakhstan; there have been only 13 launches since the first in 2016.

And likely due to funding and developmental delays, April 11 saw only the fourth launch since 2014 of Russia’s new 24.5 ton to LEO Krunichev Angara A5 heavy SLV, and its first launch from Vostochniy.

Full Text . . . . Current Edition . . . . Subscription Information

  Russia has not lost its ambition to be a space superpower