What until now were rumors and suspicions It has become the harsh reality confirmed from within. And in the most brutally possible way possible. The legendary RSC Energy, the pillar on which the entire Soviet and Russian space program was built, is in a “critical situation”, on the verge of bankruptcy. It does not say a western analyst, but the general director of the Russian company, Igor Maltsev, in an internal statement that contradicts the Kremlin propaganda.
“We have to stop lying.” Far from the usual fanfare, the message published on the occasion of the 79th anniversary of RSC Energia lacks euphemisms. “Multimillionaire debts, loan interests that eat the entire budget, ineffective processes and a significant part of the team that has lost motivation and the sense of shared responsibility,” writes Maltsev.
Filtered by The Russian medium Gazeta.ru And confirmed by multiple sources, the message is a low blow for Russian space propaganda. Maltsev was appointed director just three months ago and has needed little time to understand the magnitude of the disaster. In his letter, he affirms that the legacy of geniuses like Serguéi Koroliov “has been exhausted” and that, in recent years, “all important projects and all deadlines have been breached.”
On the verge of bankruptcy. In a desperate cry, Maltsev warns their thousands of employees that the future might not be the “flourishing of RSC Energy”, but the “closing of the corporation and the impossibility of functioning normally, paying salaries and creating new products.” The conclusion of your message, Full -widespread in Telegram channelsIt is almost a plea to heaven: to get the company forward is a task “of the kingdom of miracles”.
It is a radical change against the usual rhetoric of Roscosmos, which usually focuses on past glories and Grandilocuent future projects But with little financing. As Eric Berger points out in Ars TechnicaThe reality is that the Russian space program is deeply definanced, a situation that has been especially aggravated by the war in Ukraine. With interest rates in 18%, capital is increasingly scarce and debts become unpayable.
The end of the Russian monopoly in the ISS. The RSC Energia crisis, manufacturer of the created Soyuz ships and the progress cargo ships coincides with the moment when its role in the International Space Station has ceased to be indispensable. For decades, Russia has been in charge of raising the orbit of the station to counteract atmospheric decay, a task that performs with the engines of the Zvezda module or the progress ships coupled to the ISS.
However, his monopoly is already history. NASA, concerned about Russian threats to leave the stationit has been looking for alternatives for years. And he has already found them. As Daniel Marín details in EurekaSpacex’s new CRON-33 ship has been equipped with a specific propulsion system to raise the ISS orbit regularly. This capacity makes the Dragon a robust and reliable alternative to Russian progress, eliminating the main pressure lever that Roscosmos had left at the station.
A minimum diplomacy. Ironically, this unprecedented internal crisis coincides with a shy diplomatic thaw. As We counted in XatakaNASA and Roscosmos bosses gathered in August for the first time in almost eight years. On the table, they agreed to maintain cooperation in the ISS until 2028 and collaborate in their future exorbitation.
This approach, more than a sign of strength, seems like a pure need maneuver. The space station agrees by leaps and bounds, with the Russian module Zvezda as the main concern for its persistent air leaks.
The Maltsev action call is the most obvious symptom that the Russian space program faces a systemic collapse. The loss of its technical monopoly in the ISS, combined with an internal economic bleeding, Leave Roscosmos in its weakest position in decades. The “miracle” requested by the director of Energy is not only to save a historical company, but to prevent one of the great legacies of space exploration from becoming a museum piece.
Image | ROSCOSMOS
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