S7 Space S7 Space Transport Systems

Aktivs

• Sea Launch

2022: Downsizing due to funding issues

Space "daughter" S7 is cutting a third of the state due to funding problems. S7 Space was left by 30 people out of more than 100, the S7 Group press service told TASS.

They stressed that S7 Space continues to operate in a number of areas, in particular, work is underway on additive and welding technologies. At the same time, the project to create a light-class launch vehicle has been suspended.

Space "daughter" S7 cuts a third of the state due to funding problems

When planes do not fly, there is nowhere to take money for other projects, a source told RBC.

The publication writes that the former CEO of S7 Space Sergey Sopov published on Facebook (owned by Meta, recognized as extremist and banned in Russia) a letter from one of the former employees.

Good evening, dear Sergey Alekseevich! Today, 52 employees with 7kts have been fired, including all that you created, destroyed and broken, there is no more space direction. It is a pity for S7 space as a direction, - follows from the letter.

Roscosmos said in early June 2022 that the state corporation was ready to consider the possibility of employment in the rocket and space industry of former S7 Space employees on an individual basis with appropriate treatment.

Earlier, the S7 development center began to create a light-class launch vehicle with a return stage. It will be a light launch vehicle with the prospect of using developments in the industrial manufacture of mid-range launch vehicles for launch from the Sea Launch cosmodrome.

In January 2022, Arseniy Kisarev, director of the company's technological development department, told TASS that in 2022 it is planned to test the tanks of the developed space launch vehicle in a third-party laboratory.

A RBC source who worked at RSC Energia, which owned Sea Launch before S7, clarified that "in fact, the project was closed almost ten years ago."

Even when the launch belonged to Energia, there was a task to sell the cosmodrome. And it was sold to S7, - said the interlocutor of RBC, stating that the company could not find opportunities for the development of the project.[1]

2017

First launch: Angolan telecommunications satellite

The first S7 Space mission carried out was the launch as part of the Ground Launch: the Zenit-3SLBF rocket (equipped with the Fregat-SB upper stage), which launched on December 26, 2017 from Baikonur, launched the Angolan telecommunications satellite Angosat-1 into orbit. For launch, a rocket was used, which was previously intended to launch the Russian-German astrophysical observatory Spektr-RG (Proton-M will be launched) into space and has so far been stored at Baikonur.

S7 will order 85 launch vehicles from RSC Energia

Aerospace holding S7 will order 85 launch vehicles from RSC Energia. The owner of S7 Filev Vladislav announced this in December 2017 at the conference "Space as a Business"^[2].

Vladislav Filev believes that Sea Launch needs a new, cheaper rocket to succeed, which could become a competitor to the Falcon 9 created by SpaceXIlon Musk. Neither Zenit nor the new Angara rocket are suitable for this.

But so far, S7 will order only 12 launch vehicles from RSC Energia until 2023, and in 2018 plans to resume rocket launches from a floating cosmodrome. Investments in the resumption of the Sea Launch will amount to $220 million.

After the termination of operation of the International Space Station (ISS) in 2024, only its Russian segment will remain in orbit, and S7 intends to propose to create an orbital cosmodrome on its basis. Space ships flying into deep space could be refueled here, here they could repair their equipment. I would like to organize and sell these services S7. According to company representatives, the service promises to be in demand: Space X is preparing for flights to Mars and the colonization of the "red" planet.

Roscosmos and S7 will build an orbital cosmodrome

The S7 group of companies, which owns the Sea Launch floating cosmodrome and aviation assets, and the Roscosmos state corporation agreed in November 2017 to build an orbital cosmodrome in Earth orbit together. This multifunctional orbital complex is supposed to be used for assembling and refueling spacecraft, sending them to other near-Earth orbits, as well as for flights to the Moon and Mars. According to experts, this public-private partnership can change the rocket and space industry in our country.

The agreement of intent was recently signed by the head of Roscosmos Igor Komarov and the general director of S7 Space Transport Systems LLC (S7's Russian subsidiary for managing space assets) Sergei Sopov. A source in the rocket and space industry told Izvestia about this, the information was officially confirmed by representatives^[3] S7 group and Roscosmos^[4].

According to a Izvestia source familiar with the situation, S7 and Roscosmos agreed to cooperate in creating a multifunctional orbital complex, including one focused on the launch activities of the Sea Launch rocket and space complex. In fact, we are talking about the joint development of the orbital cosmodrome project.

According to the source, the orbital complex is supposed to be used for launching, docking, assembling, refueling, supplying and servicing space objects in Earth's orbit. Including - with their subsequent sending to interorbital and interplanetary trajectories. For transport support of the new structure, it is planned to use Sea Launch, from which it is planned to launch Zenit missiles in the coming years, and subsequently - new Russian Soyuz-5 middle-class launch vehicles.

The conditions for the implementation of the agreements between Roskosmos and S7 will be specified in detail in a separate bilateral agreement on public-private partnership in the field of space activities. This document is planned to be signed after the completion of the transaction on the purchase by the S7 group of the Sea Launch project - now it is at the stage of interstate approval.

In addition to creating an orbital cosmodrome, the agreement concluded between the parties includes plans to resume launches from the sea cosmodrome using Zenit carriers. The first phase provides for the restoration of the production of missiles for the Sea Launch. The next phase will begin after the upgrade of the launch platform. Then it can be used to launch the promising Russian middle-class Soyuz-5 missile. In addition, it is planned to create a new cargo transport ship launched from a floating cosmodrome.

Contract with Ukrainian Yuzhmash for the production of 12 Zenit missiles

On April 28, 2017, according to Yuzhmash, a contract was signed between the Ukrainian enterprise and S7 Sea Launch Limited for the production of 12 Zenit-series missiles for use in the Sea Launch and Ground Launch projects.

2016: Purchase of the Sea Launch Rocket and Space Complex

In September 2016, the S7 group of companies specializing in air transportation signed a contract with the Sea Launch group of companies (a subsidiary of RSC Energia). The agreement provides for the purchase of the Sea Launch property complex - the Sea Launch Commander command vessel, the Odissey launch platform and ground infrastructure in California. Also, the Russian corporation signed a cooperation agreement with RSC Energia, which provides for joint work to resume the operation of Sea Launch and to create a transport infrastructure in space. The new owner of Sea Launch plans up to 70 commercial launches over 15 years. The owners of the S7 group are spouses Vladislav and Natalya Filev.

Sea Launch, or Sea Launch, was created in 1995 by a consortium consisting of American Boeing, Russian RSC Energia, Norwegian shipbuilding company Kvaerner (now Aker Solutions) and Ukrainian enterprises - Yuzhnoye Design Bureau and Yuzhmash software for launching the Zenit space rocket. But in 2009, Sea Launch went bankrupt, and only RSC Energia remained in the project. In 2014, launches were suspended.

At the end of 2016, Sergei Sopov said that the cost of commercial launches from Sea Launch would range from $65 million to $76 million. SpaceX has a launch cost of $65 million, that is, S7 is going to sell its services more expensive, but the time to launch the rocket will be less than a year, while the competitor has a queue of several years.