Private space flights, the first private spacewalk, infrastructure for the development of private space exploration in Russia and private satellites – new real space startups.
On September 16, 2021, the first ever crew of private astronauts flew: the successful launch of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle with the Dragon spacecraft with four passengers on board lasted three days. Members of the mission team have been preparing for this momentous day for just under six months. This is the first time in the history of astronautics when an orbital flight was carried out by a private crew, without a single professional cosmonaut. The mission, called Inspiration4, was carried out by SpaceX, owned by engineer and entrepreneur Elon Musk.
Now Jared Isaacman has planned three new private space flights: they will include the first private spacewalk and a flight aboard SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft. Isaacman will send three private missions into Earth orbit to conduct biological research and also to raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The first of the Polaris missions, Polaris Dawn, is due to launch at the end of 2022. On board will be a crew of four, including Isaacman himself, the mission’s acting commander, mission pilot Scott Poteet, mission specialist Sarah Gillies and mission medical specialist Anna Menon.
At the same time, the Roscosmos state corporation is creating infrastructure for the development of private cosmonautics in Russia, building a support system for Russian private companies that have their own developments in the field of space exploration. To this end, a number of steps have been taken to make it possible to use the industry testing base in the interests of space startups, the Roscosmos press service reports.
“The main difficulty that space startups in Russia face today is the lack of a testing facility adapted for them. The existing infrastructure available to the rocket and space industry is focused on large projects and a complex system of government testing and certification. Therefore, any tests of rocket and space technology within the framework of this infrastructure have a very high cost,” said Alexander Bloshenko, executive director for advanced programs and science of the Roscosmos State Corporation.
According to Alexander Bloshenko, Roscosmos should take on the function of a regulator for small space companies that are not part of the State Corporation and “nurture them” by creating mechanisms that allow them to develop and form a market for private commercial services in astronautics in Russia.
For example, the Russian private experimental Earth remote sensing satellite OrbiCraft-Zorkiy, launched along with another payload from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in March 2021, continues to operate. It can serve as the basis for the creation of a series of small modern devices capable of competing on the international market.
“Zorkiy” is a modern ultra-compact spacecraft (“six” cubesat). It was created by SPUTNIX with grant support from the Innovation Promotion Fund based on the latest generation OrbiCraft-Pro SXC6 platform. Despite its small size and weight of only 8.5 kg, the satellite carries an experimental system for obtaining images with high resolution – up to 6 meters per pixel. The experimental device passed all tests of systems and modes in orbit, fully confirming the characteristics of orientation accuracy, stabilization, resolution, and data transfer speed.
The satellite daily transmits a significant amount of telemetry information to the SPUTNIX control station in Skolkovo, as well as an even larger volume of images to the ScanEx X-band ground station.
In addition, Roscosmos can issue bonds to attract private capital, the First Deputy General Director of Roscosmos said: “If there is such a need, we will be able to issue bonds to attract investments, including private and foreign investments.”