Head of Russian Federal Space Agency proposes to abandon the production of civilian satellites abroad - ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, November 15. / ITAR-TASS /. Russia may abandon the practice of placing overseas orders for spacecraft communications, broadcasting and retransmission for civilian use. According to “Kommersant”, the initiator of failure – the new head of Roscosmos Oleg Ostapenko – considers it a disguised form of subsidized foreign producers.

As a result, the European concern EADS may lose part of Russian contracts, as the sole supplier of civilian communications satellites can become JSC “Information Satellite Systems”. The customer sets “Express” – Federal State Unitary Enterprise “Russian Satellite Communications” believes such an initiative violation “is not only the principles of the WTO, but also of competition law”.

Roscosmos insists on refusing the services of foreign suppliers of such equipment as “security at the expense of the federal budget and the creation of launch services for launching space vehicles ordered from foreign companies, is a disguised form of state subsidy of their technological and industrial potential,” the document says. In this regard, said Ostapenko, the creation of launch vehicles and spacecraft launches to ensure “Express AMU2″, “Express-AMU3″, “Express-AMU4″ will be considered by Roscosmos and ROSCOM the formation of the Federal Space Program of Russia for 2016-2025 years ” taking into account the placement of orders for the supply of these spacecraft with a single supplier – JSC ISS “.

Who makes satellites for Russia

now a major supplier of satellite communications for Federal State Unitary Enterprise “Russian Satellite Communications” / RSCC / is EADS Astrium / part of the concern EADS /, which is engaged in the manufacture of satellite-based Eurostar 3000 platform. The first satellite “Express-AM4″, launched August 18, 2011, was launched into orbit due to abnormal operation of the booster “Briz-M”. March 25, 2012 was sunk in the Pacific Ocean. The insurance premium for the lost companion of 7.5 billion rubles RSCC has ordered a new EADS Astrium satellite “Express-AM4R” identical to the lost. In March 2012, a contract was signed for the manufacture of “Express-AM7,” and in early 2013, EADS Astrium has won the tender for the manufacture, supply, orbit insertion, in-orbit testing, commissioning and support of on-orbit spacecraft “Express- AMU1 “/ contract value – 6,230,000,000 rubles /.

In the Roskosmos not hide that under the orders of the civil ISS has to attract “foreign collaborators.” Thus, modification of the “Express-A” was developed by a Russian company in conjunction with Alcatel Space, and the two direct broadcast satellite “Express-AT1″ and “Express-AT2 are” created in partnership with the French subsidiary of Thales Alenia Space.

reaction ISS and “Cosmic connection”

In the ISS

sure cope with the manufacture of all the satellites of the “Express”. “In the case of appointment of the only performers have problems with production capacity does not arise: in Soviet times we were made to 28 satellites per year – told the CEO of ISS Nicholas Testoedov. – For the last seven years have built two new workshops and annually produce about 20 spacecraft” . According to him, under the current scenario, the customer spends at least a year for a tender, and after summing up the results often makes changes to the already agreed terms of reference, which leads to the breakdown of the timing.

In

RSCC to offer Roscosmos reacted negatively. “This is a direct violation of not only the principles of the WTO, and competition law – we have to hold open competitions, and we do not understand why it is necessary to set a precedent – said the RSCC. – We will translate the analysis of the legal situation in the plane”.