Russia to begin serial satellite assembly in 2027 - Roscosmos
MOSCOW. Aug 5 (Interfax) - The Russian aerospace enterprises will begin industrial assembly of satellites in 2027 to produce about 100 satellites per year, Roscosmos First Deputy CEO Andrei Yelchaninov said in an interview with Interfax.
"We have estimated the necessary investment, including that in equipment, realizing that this is a long and expensive process. For now, we have decided that we should shift to conveyer production in two steps. At the first stage, we will produce about a hundred satellites per year, followed by expansion of our capacities and fine-tuning of the technologies," Yelchaninov said.
Roscosmos hopes to begin industrial assembly of satellites as early as in 2027, he said.
"This is the first stage when we use capabilities of the existent enterprises to the maximum. We will bring in new equipment and will open new lines. If these capabilities are insufficient, we will start building new production sites by 2030," Yelchaninov said.
NPO Lavochkin is implementing a pilot project to make three satellites, which will be adapted to serial assembly, he said, adding that two satellites have an optical-electronic payload and one will carry a radar.
Roscosmos's Reshetnev will begin industrial assembly of Skif and Marafon-IoT satellites for the Internet of Things and broadband Internet access, Yelchaninov said. The first two Marafon satellites are due to be launched at the end of this year, he said.
"Reshetnev is modernizing production to expedite manufacturing of classic heavy satellites for the Glonass and Gonets systems," Yelchaninov said.
On July 9, Roscosmos CEO Yury Borisov said that the Russian space industry's switch to serial production of satellites is estimated at 60 billion rubles, and it is planned that this transition will be carried out in two stages in 2026-2028. The first spacecraft is scheduled to roll off the production line in 2026, he said then.
Borisov said in October 2022 that the space industry should switch to conveyor production of satellites, with the required pace of one satellite per day. Russia is willing to adopt the experience of other countries, including China, he said.
