Beyond Politics

Russia's Roscosmos Offers Cosmodrome Construction to Equatorial Nations

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian state space corporation Roscosmos is actively engaging in international cooperation and offering countries located close to the equator the construction of cosmodromes, Roscosmos head Yury Borisov said on Tuesday.
Sputnik
"In fact, [Russia offers] the creation of cosmodromes. We mostly discuss this with countries that are located close to the equator," Borisov told the Rossiya 24 broadcaster.
At the same time, foreign partners are interested in the creation of telecommunication and Earth remote sensing satellites, he also said. The cooperation also includes discussion of cosmonaut training and construction of national modules as part of the future Russian orbital station, the Roscosmos head added.
Borisov added that Roscosmos is actively cooperating with BRICS partners and expanding to new markets, including contacts with India, China, Iran, Algeria, South Africa and a number of other African countries.
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Borisov also announced that Roscosmos launched 99 satellites in 2024, with the Russian space group currently consisting of approximately 288 devices.
"There was an absolute increase [in the space group], meaning we launched in 2024 … 99 satellites, and the group today consists of about 288 devices. It is constantly changing because a number of satellites go out of order and are replaced. This is a significant increase, we are in the third place in the world in terms of the dynamics of creating a national space group," Borisov said in an interview with the Rossiya 24 broadcaster.
Borisov added that another launch was scheduled for December 25, when the Soyuz-2.1b rocket would deploy the high-resolution Earth observation satellite Resurs-P No. 5.
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The creation of a space constellation is a priority, with Roscosmos actively advancing the serial production of spacecraft, Borisov said.
"We will continue to work on maintaining the operation of the GLONASS system: 24 satellites are reliably functioning in orbit. If necessary, we have four satellites ready on Earth to replenish this constellation," Borisov added.
Russia's rocket and space industry will soon be profitable, the Roscosmos head said, adding that the corporation itself had already become profitable.
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