Russia’s space agency has to sell off billions of rubles in assets

Russia plans to sell off millions in assets from its space agency following the effects that Western sanctions have had on Roscosmos. Here’s what you need to know and why it’s a lot more important than you think. 

Newsweek reported that Roscosmos plans to sell more than eleven billion rubles worth of its assets. equivalent to one-hundred and twenty-four million dollars, due to sanctions imposed on Russia since 2022. 

A Roscosmos representative told the Russian news outlet RBC that the decision to sell off its assets was made after the space agency lost roughly eighty percent of its export income due to several factors. 

The loss of orders and key partners played a big role in Roscosmos' financial issues, and there have been many media stories since the invasion of Ukraine detailing the loss of important space partnerships. 

For example, on March 3rd, 2022, just days after the invasion of Ukraine began, Russia lost one of its most important space partnerships. The British satellite company OneWeb suspended all its future launches. 

Roscosmos also announced it would no longer sell rocket engines to the United States according to a New York Times report, but it was not nearly as devastating as OneWeb, nor other important former clients. 

In July 2023, Bloomberg News reported that the loss of OneWeb and the South Korean Space Agency cut off two “valuable sources of funding.” But now Roscosmos' problems are so tough the space agency has been forced to act. 

The Roscosmos representative who spoke with RBC noted that the space agency would sell off many of its “non-core” assets. More than one hundred and fifty items will be sold over the coming year to raise capital. 

Newsweek reported the list of non-core assets intended to be sold off included boarding houses and sanatoriums, as well as land, properties, and recreational centers. What the sales will generate is still unknown. 

In December 2023, the Director General of Roscosmos Yuri Borisov went on Russian state elevision and explained that the year had not been a good one for the space agency and that he was hoping to reverse the trend. 

Borisov explained that hundreds of billions in rubles had been lost due to the ending of contracts with what he called unfriendly countries. Roscosmos lost roughly 180 billion, or $1.9 billion, because of the war. 

"Out of 230 billion rubles, 180 billion of contracts went to so-called unfriendly countries—these included the supply of engines, these included launch services,” Borisov explained to Russia-24 TV channel according to Newsweek. 

“Therefore, 180 billion, in fact, has gone from our export revenue," Borisov continued. Whether or not such a significant amount of money will not be made up by the sale of the space agency’s non-core assets is not known. 

Newsweek reported funds from the asset sale will help improve Roscosmos’ financial situation according to the representative that spoke with RBC, but added that sales of non-core assets in 2023 made roughly 6.5 billion rubles. 

Financial troubles aren't the only problems facing Roscosmos. Business Insider reported that the space agency has been grappling with a recurring air leak in its section of the International Space Station. 

The air leak was identified in October 2020 and fixed. But a leak appeared in November 2021, and another leak was discovered in January 2022, both of which were thought to have been fixed by Russia. However, reports indicate the leak issue has resurfaced.  

In August 2023, the Russian Luna-25 moon lander, which was part of Moscow’s first mission back to the moon in 47 years, crashed into the lunar surface after a malfunction in its onboard control system according to Aviation Week. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State Universit, Public Domain