On August 5, the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) announced that the severance of relations with Western countries has resulted in the agency incurring losses of nearly 180 billion rubles (2.1 billion USD).
A Russian Soyuz spacecraft docking at the ISS – (Photo: Roscosmos).
As part of the sanctions imposed on Russia due to the conflict in Ukraine, Western countries have terminated partnerships with Roscosmos in the field of space exploration.
The Russian news agency Interfax quoted Andrei Yelchaninov, deputy head of Roscosmos, stating: “The termination of cooperation contracts by unfriendly nations has caused Roscosmos to incur losses of 180 billion rubles.”
One of the collaborations that has been suspended is the implementation of a joint mission to explore Mars with the European Space Agency (ESA). Additionally, Roscosmos has had to halt Soyuz rocket launches from the Kourou spaceport in the French overseas territory of Guiana.
According to Yelchaninov, Roscosmos intends to compensate for the lost revenue by increasing business collaborations with countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
Yelchaninov noted that this is a long-term project due to strong competition in these new markets, but if the agency enters the market correctly, the prospects for Roscosmos will be very promising.
