RSC-Energia (S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia), a main component of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency, is very short of funding – and business. A report on the Gazeta newsite said that the Energia portion of Russia’s space and rocket enterprise was being prepared for a sale to a private individual.

However, the more official TASS news agency says this information is “absolute fiction”.

TASS states: “S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia is one of the head enterprises of Roscosmos, specialising in manned space exploration. It created the first artificial Earth satellite, the first spacecraft and automatic interplanetary stations that reached the Moon, as well as Venus and Mars. In addition, RSC Energia is the developer of the Soyuz manned spacecraft and the Progress cargo spacecraft. Among the corporation’s promising projects are a new-generation manned transport spacecraft and the Russian orbital station”.

The news that Energia is under financial threat came from its boss, Igor Maltsev, chief of RSC Energia, which is located near Moscow. He told the company’s thousands of workers that the corporation has reached a “critical” condition and cannot continue in its present state.

US journalist and meteorologist Eric Berger quoted Maltsev’s words to staff as being: “The situation is critical: multi-million dollar debts, interest on loans that ‘eat up’ the budget, many processes that are ineffective, and a significant part of the team has lost motivation and a sense of shared responsibility.”

Maltsev explained Energia is having difficulty paying wages and delivering the spacecraft and other products it is contracted to build.

“We need to stop lying to ourselves and others about the state of affairs, convincing ourselves and others that everything is fine with us,” he added. “The time demands decisive action from us—not to sit, but to fight for the enterprise. I suggest that everyone answer the question honestly: are you ready to work for the result and make a real contribution?”

Maltsev was appointed just three months ago.

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Categories: Blogs, Business, Inside Satellite

Tags: russia, satellite