Space industry in Russia - statistics & facts
Russia is one of the leading countries in space program spending, with approximately 3.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. This was 21 times smaller than the U.S. government expenditure. Space exploration is a significant income source for the national budget. The revenue of Russian companies amounted to 413 billion Russian rubles in 2023 and was expected to increase in the following year.
The number of people working in the Russian space industry has been declining over the past years, which was attributed to the sale of non-core assets, the optimization of production processes, and the outsourcing of some functions. The Russian State Corporation for Space Activities, Roscosmos, counted over 181,000 employees, being one of the largest employer companies in the country.
The deterioration of relations with Western partners has challenged Russia's space program and exploration activities. Thus, Roscosmos is planning to build its own space station with a four-module core by 2030. The project's financing was set at almost 609 billion Russian rubles.
Legacy of the Soviet Union
The direct successor to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Russia carries the legacy of the first satellite, Sputnik 1, in 1957, and the first human spaceflight performed by Yuri Gagarin in 1961. In addition, the Soviet Union claimed the first woman in space in 1963 and the first cosmonaut to perform a spacewalk in 1965. Between 1961 and 1991, the Soviet Union sent 71 human-crewed space missions.State of the industry
Russia had 22 successful space launches in 2022, less than in the previous year. The country uses three active spaceports, which are known as cosmodromes: Baikonur in Kazakhstan, Plesetsk near Arkhangelsk, and Vostochny in the Amur Oblast.The number of people working in the Russian space industry has been declining over the past years, which was attributed to the sale of non-core assets, the optimization of production processes, and the outsourcing of some functions. The Russian State Corporation for Space Activities, Roscosmos, counted over 181,000 employees, being one of the largest employer companies in the country.
International cooperation
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has strained administrative relations between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and Roscosmos. In February 2022, Russia decided to suspend cooperative space launches from the Kourou cosmodrome in French Guiana. Furthermore, according to Roscosmos, it lost a total of 180 billion Russian rubles due to Western countries withdrawing from agreements. The Russian government announced that it would withdraw from the International Space Station, with the current contract running until 2028.The deterioration of relations with Western partners has challenged Russia's space program and exploration activities. Thus, Roscosmos is planning to build its own space station with a four-module core by 2030. The project's financing was set at almost 609 billion Russian rubles.
