Commercial Aerospace: Russia Needs Its Own Elon Musk – But One That Is Controllable and Obedient
Before nurturing a native Bezos, Russia had better take the path of related countries.
Author: Mikhail Zubov
According to The Washington Post, against the backdrop of the conflict between Donald Trump and Elon Musk, both NASA and the Pentagon are urgently looking for possible alternatives to the rockets and spacecraft of this billionaire.
Since 2020, Musk's company has been delivering cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). The Washington Post pointed out that the Pentagon is largely dependent on SpaceX in the field of military satellite launches.
As of June 9 (Monday), there were reports that the relationship between Trump and Musk was improving, and Musk even retweeted several tweets by the president about the situation in California. However, Newsweek reported that if these two people have another disagreement, the United States will face severe dependence on Russia for manned space launches.
In recent years, Russia has also considered attracting companies to participate in aerospace programs. But how can the risk of disruption to aerospace programs caused by the whims of entrepreneurs be avoided while fostering public-private cooperation in the aerospace sector? Russian hero, astronaut, and politician Yelena Serova (who stayed in orbit for 167 days) answered this question in an interview with Free Media:
"Commercial cooperation in the aerospace sector is necessary, and opportunities for private aerospace companies must be provided for development, but it must be under state control so that we do not encounter situations like those in the United States. Either state-owned enterprises or private companies under strict state supervision are needed."
"Because space exploration is a national security issue. After all, space exploration was initiated by military institutions during the Soviet era, and this is not accidental."
Free Media: "Currently, we mainly cooperate with foreign enterprises: they provide satellites, and we send them into orbit. Why can't Russian enterprises achieve this in the aerospace sector?"
"A case in point is when S7 Company established its subsidiary S7 Space to participate in aerospace programs and implement the 'Sea Launch' project, the CEO of the company, Natalia Filieva, died mysteriously in a plane crash while flying her private aircraft to Eglertshbach Airport near Frankfurt am Main, and the project subsequently stalled."
Background Information: "Sea Launch" is a floating space launch platform that can change the rocket launch location according to the required orbit and payload weight. The project was initially launched in the 1990s by Russia, Ukraine, Norway, and the United States, and was later acquired by Russia's S7 Space. The launch platform has been fully built, conducted one demonstration launch, but the project has been frozen.
"Therefore, I believe that commercial forces should not independently participate in space exploration. It should not solely depend on the initiative of any enthusiastic entrepreneur or female entrepreneur. Because any commercial company cannot independently undertake such endeavors without state involvement. Space exploration first requires huge funds, which can only be borne by the national economy, and it also involves powerful political factors. All of this should be integrated under the leadership of the state."
"Look at the situation in the United States. Musk originally expected substantial support from the U.S. budget (including achieving his dream of Mars flights), but we saw the result: the support provided by the U.S. government was less than he hoped for."
"Musk hoped that the leadership of NASA would be in his hands, but ultimately others were appointed. The consequences of this disagreement may damage the entire U.S. aerospace industry."
"Therefore, our government should adopt very flexible policies when cooperating with commercial aerospace forces and should not delegate too much power to the private sector. Private enterprises can be allowed to participate in aerospace projects, but only under strict state control to prevent commercial aerospace from manipulating national programs." Yelena Serova concluded.
The question remains: Is it that the Russian government is unwilling to let enterprises enter the aerospace sector, or that Russian entrepreneurs are unwilling to invest in space exploration? Free Media interviewed Ivan Moiseev, academic director of the Institute of Space Policy, on this issue. Before answering, the scholar first commented on the aerospace turmoil in the United States:
"Trump initially said he wanted to cancel Musk's government contract, and Musk responded: 'Fine, I will stop producing the "Dragon" spacecraft according to the government contract, and you can figure out how to go to the ISS as you wish.' This naturally resembles children's quarrels in kindergarten...
Free Media: "Nevertheless, this 'childish' interaction around the aerospace sector has alarmed everyone. We don’t have similar integration, so will something similar happen around the Russian Space Corporation (Roscosmos)?"
"Our situation is delicate. First, after thirty years of market construction, we realized that the aerospace sector should also have a market economy: the state acts as a client, and enterprises execute tasks. Enterprises can be private. Musk has proven to everyone that this is the most effective method."
"But theoretically, the upper echelons understand that this should be done, yet once they move down even one level – for example, at the department head level within the Russian Space Corporation – the attitude towards commerce becomes extremely negative."
"Part of the reason is that the people there belong to the old school and cannot imagine the existence of non-state enterprises; another part of the reason (which is also a problem at the national level) is that there are very few capable enterprises able to enter the aerospace sector."
"We don’t have commercial giants like Musk or Bezos (Jeff Bezos – Amazon founder, who successfully launched his own rocket for the first time on January 16, 2025) in the United States. We can only push the creation of similar commercial forces from the top down, like related countries."
"Related countries issued government documents in 2014 to clearly develop private enterprises in the aerospace sector, and the government's policies were strictly enforced. Many achievements made by related countries over the past ten years are precisely because they followed the American path." Ivan Moiseev explained, "On our side, on one hand, enterprises are unable to enter the aerospace sector, and on the other hand (at the middle management level), the government is unwilling to let enterprises in."
Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7514542504977515019/
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