Dealing with the Gonz: How the arrival of new Roscosmos management will change the industry

The priority of the new management of Roscosmos may be the rapid development of orbital constellations, communication, navigation and remote sensing services, experts believe. Dmitry Bakanov has been appointed head of the state corporation, succeeding Yuri Borisov. Experts noted: despite a number of major achievements, the period of Yuri Borisov's leadership was also marked by failures. Including the crash of Luna-25 and accidents on Russian spacecraft. What tasks are facing the new head of Roscosmos - in the material "Izvestia".

What the head of "Roscosmos" is remembered for

February 6, the head of the state corporation Yuri Borisov was dismissed. In his place was appointed Deputy Minister of Transportation Dmitry Bakanov. The Kremlin website published the relevant decrees of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

- There are no claims to Yuri Borisov. The corporation needs to develop dynamically. That is why there is a rotation, - explained personnel decisions press secretary of the head of state Dmitry Peskov.

Yuri Borisov was head of "Roscosmos" since July 15, 2022. In his post he was remembered for a number of achievements and failures.

- In particular, during his leadership, the development and the first launch of the Russian medium-range ballistic missile "Oreshnik" was completed. Also, the Angara-A5 heavy-lift launch vehicle was successfully launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome. In addition, it is worth noting the record-breaking one-year stay on the International Space Station of Vladimir Kononenko and the successful expedition of the first Belarusian woman cosmonaut Marina Vasilevskaya to the ISS," science journalist Roman Belousov told "Izvestia".

However, the expert added, there were some notable failures under Yuri Borisov. Among them is the loss of the Luna-25. In many respects, the crash of the module was caused by management decisions, which were designed to ensure victory and overtake in the "lunar race" sent at the same time, the Indian apparatus "Chandrayaan-3".

Also, according to Roman Belousov, the two holes and "fountains" of coolant on the Russian ships Soyuz MS-22 and Progress MS-21 look like failures. These accidents occurred one after the other with a short interval and could have threatened the life and health of the crew.

One of the tasks that Yuri Borisov faced was to - ensure mass production of satellites in Russia, said space expert Dmitry Strugovets.

- Unfortunately, this has not happened. Moreover, the sites for their production, including "Information Satellite Systems" named after Academician M. F. Reshetnev "were ready to deploy production in 2022," he told Izvestia.

At the same time, as Stratolink executive director Nicholas Oxman noted in a conversation with Izvestia, it is wrong to blame Yuri Borisov alone for all of Roscosmos' problems.

- Recently, the heads of the state corporation have been changing every three years. What can be done during this period in such a huge and inert structure? Unless you set a course for new achievements and then leave," the expert explained.

As for the Russian satellite constellation, he noted that Borisov has done a lot of work in this direction. In particular, he gave a start to many processes for the realization of the project and sent employees to adopt technologies of conveyor production of satellites. Such work had not been done before.

What are the tasks of the new head of Roscosmos?

Thenew head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Bakanov, is the youngest head of the state corporation in its history, experts emphasize. His appointment may signal a signal to renew and rejuvenate the leadership of the space industry, as well as accelerate the development of the Russian orbital satellite constellation.

- He is a native of the rocket and space industry. He was the head of the Gonets company. In particular, this company replaced imported equipment on Russian fishing vessels with domestically designed terminals. Under him, the company also became a satellite operator of Roscosmos. Under him, a network of Luch satellites was deployed, which provides communications, including for the International Space Station," Dmitry Strugovets told Izvestia.

In the Ministry of Transport Dmitry Bakanov implemented projects related to the introduction of modern technologies such as satellite navigation, satellite communications in transport, the expert added. For example, under his leadership, Russia's first unmanned truck traffic on the M-11 highway between Moscow and St. Petersburg was launched.

At the same time, the new head will face complex tasks. Among other things, the state corporation should focus on the realization of the concept of a single seamless digital sky, believes Anton Alekseev, general director of the aerospace company Novy Kosmos and chief specialist of the laboratory of the D. V. Skobeltsyn Research Institute of Nuclear Physics at Moscow State University. This involves the interaction of vehicles, technologies, services and devices at all levels of air and space. Such a system integrates unmanned aircraft systems and space satellites.

In addition, it is important to optimize the work of the industry enterprises, which is aimed at creating new launch vehicles - reusable means of putting payloads into orbit, the expert stressed.

- Under the leadership of Yuri Borisov, much has been done to develop the private sector of Russian cosmonautics. This can serve as a basis for creative activity of the new leadership. At the same time, in terms of development of close orbits the tasks are more or less clear. Here it is necessary to develop Roscosmos as an enterprise that implements projects in the sphere of satellite communications, navigation, remote sensing of the Earth and similar tasks, - says Sergey Zhukov, a full member of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics, president of the Moscow Space Club.

At the same time, the functions of scientific study and development of deep space should be separated from Roscosmos, he believes. This will require the creation of a separate structure - a federal space agency, which, like NASA, will become the customer for such research.

The expert noted that Dmitry Bakanov is known as an extraordinary thinking manager. His approach to management includes not only economic aspects, but also strategic development of technologies. Therefore, it can be suggested that Russian cosmonautics is on the threshold of significant changes.

- This year it is planned to discuss and adopt the Federal Space Program for the period from 2026 to 2035. Recently, work has been underway to define its contours. Among other things, the Russian Academy of Sciences has been working on fundamental space research, including the construction of a lunar space observatory, an expedition to Venus and other ambitious projects. They will allow Russia to remain among the leaders in scientific space exploration," Lev Zeleny, scientific director of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Izvestia.

He said that Yuri Borisov as head of the state corporation was very understanding and supportive of the scientists' proposals. It is important that the tradition of consultations with scientists is preserved. Despite all transitory circumstances, Russia should have its own strong space science, the academician summarized.