Comments on: A close look at Russia’s Vostochny spaceport

By: mkent

mkent — Sat, 02 Feb 2019 01:17:56 +0000

Whether China is interested remains an open question.

That’s going to be an interesting issue in the coming decade. I think it was the head of the Chinese national space agency that said, “We’ve learned about all we can from the Russians. We still have much to learn from the Americans, however.”

The quoted paragraphs are also interesting in another way. Siberia is vast and largely empty, and China has a lot of people. Siberia hasn’t always been Russian, and if Russia is not careful, it may not be in the future either.

By: Edward

Edward — Fri, 01 Feb 2019 23:41:02 +0000

Dick Eagleson,
That is an interesting analogy, and one that described the U.S. manned space program a decade ago. Fortunately, Russia offered a lift to the U.S., and I suspect that U.S. launch companies will offer a lift to Russian payloads, should it come to that.

Russia may favor China, however. Both of those countries are run by communists (at heart) trying to operate in a free market Capitalist world. Sharing this plight may give them a sense of camaraderie.

By: Dick Eagleson

Dick Eagleson — Fri, 01 Feb 2019 17:56:16 +0000

Yes. Russia is standing alongside the road to space with its thumb out. The question is now simply whether anyone at all will offer them a lift and, if so, whom. It seems decreasingly likely that Russia is going to be picked up by anyone at all.