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Deputy PM blames Russian space agency’s management for systemic mistakes

The cabinet provides Roscosmos with maximum support so that the corporation can solve existing problems, according to the senior governmental official

MOSCOW, December 27. /TASS/. Management of the state-run space corporation Roscosmos have made systemic mistakes, Russian Deputy Prime Minister said in a televised interview with Rossiya’24 channel on Wednesday.

"The state-run corporation [Roscosmos] has been facing systemic mistakes in both management and among the executives," he said.

"We had pinned great hopes on the fact we were doing without incidents for years. However, there was an incident at the end of last year. This year, there have been 20 successful launches and an abortive one," Rogozin said.

"If earlier we had had inadmissible manufacturing defects [behind the abortive launches] urging the enterprises to improve discipline afterwards, in this case the space port operated perfectly, the launch vehicle worked ideally as well as the proper booster unit and working payload," the deputy prime minister said.

"Nevertheless, it has turned out that one tailor was sewing a pocket, while another was sewing a lapel, but the suit was a failure," Rogozin said.

"One should shoulder a complex and systemic responsibility for this system in order to create such a sophisticated system," he emphasized adding that a systemic fault had hindered comprehension of what kind of work is required at the new Vostochny spaceport.

The cabinet provides Roscosmos with maximum support so that the corporation can solve existing problems, according to the senior governmental official.

"Reforms are in great demand, starting from technological overhaul at the enterprises, which lack behind sufficiently, and ending with issues related to systemic comprehension of the markets the sector should be moving forward to, so that those markets will be given up in nobody’s favor," he said.