Roscosmos head says S7’s acquisition of Sea Launch unsuccessful

MOSCOW, Aug 25 (PRIME) -- The situation with Russia’s S7 Airlines buying the Sea Launch maritime spacecraft launch platform but having no money for an upgrade due to the pandemic is a negative example of a private aerospace company, Dmitry Rogozin, director general of state space corporation Roscosmos, said in an interview to the Ekho Moskvy radio station late on Tuesday.

“The fate of these two units (the floating platform and the commander vessel) is being solved right now. This may be an unsuccessful example, but I still call for other people to take risks,” he said.

The pandemic and lockdowns worsened the financial condition of S7 and left it without money for an upgrade of the Sea Launch, he said.

The difficulty of the private aerospace sector lies within long terms of creation of spacecraft. Satellites are built in 3–7 years, while rockets are built in 7–10 years. “Do we have people that are patient enough to invest into this sector?” he asked, adding that these investors will find understanding and support in the form of Roscosmos employees.

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