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Entire Russian communications satellite industry threatened by Russia’s Ukraine invasion

Because almost all Russian communications satellites rely on western components, the sanctions imposed on Russia due to its invasion of the Ukraine will likely prevent the future launch of any such satellites.

The overwhelmingly wide sanctions against the Kremlin left practically no chance for Russia to complete any of its communications satellites in the development pipeline at the time due to their dependency on Western payloads.

Conceivably, Russia could turn to China for necessary components or/and Moscow could try again developing necessary competencies inside the country, but given little signs of progress on both of those fronts in the past, it could probably take years if not decades before all the technological gaps could be closed and it would be even more difficult to do under much harsher economic conditions and export controls. It is also a question whether China would be interested in boosting strategically important industries in Russia with potential military implications or whether it would want to challenge the Western sanctions regime by putting at risk its far more important trade relations with the United States.

The article at the link also notes the generally low quality of Russian communications satellites, which for example generally last only five to six years, compared to the 10 to 15 year lifespan of western satellites. This low quality has meant that Russia has been unable to sell this technology to anyone outside Russia.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 
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"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

3 comments

  • pzatchok

    If China was smart(and they are) they would make Russia a vassal state.

    Sell them the electronics they need but never give them the ability to manufacture their own.
    Buy all their oil and gas and sell them everything from currency exchange and banking to cell phones.

    Inside ten years Russia will not even elect people that China didn’t approve of.

    All they have to do is stop Russia from doing things for itself, which they can do if they are the only ones able to buy Russian goods and services.

    Russia would be another North Korea.

  • pzatchok

    Articles like this are what give me the idea that their nuclear arsenal is in disarray.

    If you can not build a communications satellite why do you think you can keep your weapons electronics up to grade?

    The electronics go bad or at least not trustworthy inside 40 years.
    Explosives can go bad inside 30 years.
    Solid rocket fuel does go bad.
    The tritium booster needs replacing inside 30 years.

    ‘These are a few of the reasons the Ukrainian did not keep its Soviet era nuclear weapons when they broke away.

    The US is constantly refitting its nuclear arsenal. Just to keep the weapons war ready is a huge expense.

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