Support The Moscow Times!

Russia Plans Reusable Rocket to Compete With Elon Musk by 2024 – RBC

Roscosmos

Russia plans to build its own reusable Argo rocket to compete with Elon Musk and supply the International Space Station (ISS) by 2024, the RBC news website reported Monday.

Russia has previously accused Musk's SpaceX of squeezing it out of the carrier rockets market with the company's relatively low-cost Falcon 9 rockets. Last year, Russia’s state-owned space corporation Roscosmos brushed off Musk’s successful launch of his Falcon Heavy reusable rocket toward Mars as “a nice trick.” 

Construction of the $9.8-billion Argo spaceship is expected to kick off after Roscosmos signs a cooperation agreement with the MTKS private researcher, according to the minutes of an August Roscosmos meeting obtained by RBC.

“This will ultimately reduce the cost of the space program as a whole,” MTKS beneficiary Sergei Sopov was quoted as saying.

Roscosmos spokesman Vladimir Ustimenko told RBC that it “will be ready to discuss specific technical proposals as soon as they’re submitted.” 

Since the U.S. space shuttles were retired in 2011, Roscosmos has charged NASA an estimated $70 million for each seat aboard its rockets. Musk is promising to undercut that significantly.

“A Dragon flight under a state contract could cost $40 million, a Progress flight around $20 million. One can assume Argo will be cheaper due to its reusability,” independent space expert Vitaly Yegorov told RBC.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more