Roscosmos creates infrastructure for private cosmonautics development in Russia by building a support system for Russian private companies that have their own developments in the field of space exploration.

To do so, a number of steps have been taken to enable the use of the industry's testing facilities in the interests of space startups. In particular, Roscosmos has initiated research and development work on the use of the testing infrastructure for private companies. As part of the R&D work conducted by the Agat Organization (part of Roscosmos), mechanisms of creation, operation and legal regulation of the future infrastructure are being developed.

At the same time the State Corporation proposed the idea of testing private spacecraft in specialized Russian universities. This idea was supported by Samara National Research University together with Samara Progress Rocket and Space Center (a part of Roscosmos) which is one of the national centers of competence in the field of national cosmonautics.

The university, with the assistance of Progress RSC, is ready to take on the role of driving these innovations and gradually build up the process of transition to tests that are recognized by the leading scientific organizations of the space industry and based on the results of which commercial companies can be given a compliance certificate.

The idea to use the existing infrastructure for testing rocket-and-space equipment in the interests of private companies was picked up by other higher education institutions of the country. State Technical University Voenmeh and Military Space Academy showed interest and offered their sites for rocket engine testing.

‘The main difficulty faced by space startups in Russia today is the lack of testing facilities adapted for them. The existing infrastructure that the rocket and space industry has is focused on large projects and a complicated system of state testing and certification. That is why any tests of rocket-and-space equipment within this infrastructure cost very high,’ says Roscosmos Executive Director for Advanced Programs and Science Alexander Bloshenko.

According to him, Roscosmos should take on the regulator function for small space companies that are not part of the State Corporation and ‘nurture them’, creating mechanisms that allow them to develop and form the market for private commercial services in Russia’s space industry.