None of this may be confirmed, after all.
It is usually potential that Borisov was merely fired due to the commonly poor state of affairs at Roscosmos, which is saddled with myriad issues, together with: corruption, an absence of funding, low wages and poor worker morale, Russia’s battle in opposition to Ukraine draining expertise, a reliance on expertise half a century outdated, and shrinking business markets.
The underside line is that Russia merely doesn’t have the state funds to help important investments in its area packages, and the nation’s technical efforts are bent on weapons quite than spaceflight. It additionally has nearly no business area market, as the whole lot is managed by Roscosmos or its state-owned subsidiaries.
The Ukraine battle has exacerbated Russia’s decline in area. The nation’s area program survived the breakup of the Soviet Union 1 / 4 of a century in the past by partnering with the West. It shaped the coalition of countries that constructed the Worldwide House Station, with NASA offering important monetary help. European firms purchased launches on the Soyuz rocket. American launch firms purchased Russian rocket engines. However most of that’s over now, and the longer term appears pretty bleak, with Europe closing off its markets to Russian markets and NASA and Roscosmos doubtless ending their area station partnership by 2030.
Cows on Mars
Within the meantime, Putin seems to be shuffling chairs at Roscosmos and daydreaming about missions to Mars.
Throughout a rally with school college students within the metropolis of Yaroslavl, Putin was talking about how Russia would advance into the longer term. As a part of this, he awarded the “Presidential Prize” to a number of younger scientists, together with an aerospace engineer named Natalia Cherkashina. She received an award for an anti-radiation composite materials.
“Natalia Igorevna, are you able to please inform me if immediately’s fashionable radiation-protective composites will enable, say, cows to fly to Mars and return? Or bunnies? Or cats? Or canine?” Putin requested.
“Why not? After all they are going to,” she replied.
Afterward, Putin stated he was simply kidding round. “I used to be joking about cows; we’d like cows right here to make cheese and milk,” he stated. Below his watch, Russia’s area program has change into one thing of a joke, too.
