Russian space agency reports $2.1 Billion loss from break with the West

• Western countries imposed sanctions and severed their partnerships with Roscosmos in the space sector.
• The agency suspended the launches of its Soyuz rockets from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana.
• The agency is setting a target to return to the volume of exports before sanctions.

On Monday, Russia’s space agency reported that the break with the West following Russia’s offensive in Ukraine had cost it nearly 180 billion rubles ($2.1 billion). In response to Russia’s campaign, Western countries imposed sanctions and severed their partnerships with Roscosmos in the space sector.

Andrei Yelchaninov, deputy head of the Roscosmos agency, told Interfax news agency that the termination of contracts by unfriendly countries cost Roscosmos 180 billion rubles. One halted collaboration included a planned joint mission to explore Mars with the European Space Agency.

Roscosmos also suspended the launches of its Soyuz rockets from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. Yelchaninov stated that the agency plans to compensate for the lost revenues by increasing business with countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

“As for the returning to the volume of exports we had before sanctions, we are setting this target,” he said.

“But this is a long-term project since competition is strong in all these new markets. But if we penetrate the markets correctly, the prospects are very good.”

Russia’s space sector has faced financing problems, corruption scandals, and setbacks, including the loss of the Luna-25 lunar module in August 2023.

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