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The second chief of the Russian space corporation Roscosmos has been sacked after just two and a half years.<\/p>\n
Russia’s space chief Yuri Borisov has been replaced by former Roscosmos staffer and former deputy minister of transport Dmitry Bakanov, Ars Technica<\/em> reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n The news comes less than three years after Dmitry Rogozin, Russia’s former highly abrasive<\/a> and unpredictable<\/a> space head, was replaced by Borisov<\/a>. Borisov has proved to be a far more predictable agency leader than Rogozin, though that clearly wasn’t enough to hang onto the role.<\/p>\n While we have no idea why Borisov was sacked, there are plenty of unverified rumors swirling, as Ars<\/em> reports, from a failed intermediate-range ballistic missile test<\/a> last year to the mysterious circumstances<\/a> surrounding the death of Borisov’s 43-year-old son.<\/p>\n Especially following Russia’s extremely costly invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s space efforts have stagnated, suffering a lack of private investment, brain drain, and slowing commercial markets, in Ars<\/em>‘ analysis.<\/p>\n The country is still looking to launch its own orbital space station to replace the International Space Station. Late last year, Roscosmos threw its weight behind<\/a> NASA’s plans to\u00a0destroy the International Space Station<\/a>\u00a0starting in 2030.<\/p>\n But whether the first two modules of the new station will launch as soon as 2027, plans that Borisov announced in 2024<\/a>, remains to be seen. The war in Ukraine has severed many of Russia’s ties to its international space partners, forcing it to forge its own way.<\/p>\n The company’s efforts to land an uncrewed spacecraft on the Moon also failed in 2023<\/a>, marking a major setback for Roscosmos’ ambitions.<\/p>\n Bakanov was the head of a company called Gonets, a small satellite communications system that was mainly used for government purposes, Reuters<\/em> reports<\/a>. Gonets represented Russia in the global satellite comms project OneWeb, but the country pulled out in 2018, citing possible risks to national security.<\/p>\n Could Bakanov’s appointment be a sign that an international arms race in space is heating up? According to Reuters<\/em>, the last agreement limiting the number of nuclear weapons between the US and Russia is set to expire next year, which could set the stage for a race to deliver nuclear weapons into orbit. The two world powers clashed at the United Nations last year<\/a> over a proposed ban on nuclear weapons in space.<\/p>\n In short, we can only guess as to why Borisov was axed. But given the turbulent years the space agency has been through already, Roscosmos is in dire need of new energy.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is currently getting plush government contracts<\/a> for his own company while aiming his sights at regulators from within the White House \u2014 putting the US space program on a very different trajectory.<\/p>\n More on Roscosmos: <\/strong>Russian Space Program Confirms Plans to Destroy Space Station<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n