Roscosmos to perform about 20 space launches in 2022, with due account of cancellation of OneWeb missions - Rogozin
SAMARA. March 19 (Interfax) - Roscosmos will perform about 20 space launches in 2022, with due account of the cancellation of OneWeb missions and the suspended operation of the Soyuz launch site in Kourou, Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin said.
"Six OneWeb satellites, including the one removed by us from the launch site, and another three satellites we were supposed to launch from Kourou, these are French surveillance satellites, will not be launched. In all, [...] we will perform about 20 [launches], that's okay," Rogozin told reporters on Saturday.
Rogozin said in January that Roscosmos was planning about 30 space launches for 2022.
According to Rogozin, the Soyuz launch site at the Guiana Space Center in Kourou may be mothballed forever due to the EU sanctions against Russia.
"It may be mothballed forever. Why would we need it there? Why would we need a partner [the European Space Agency] that is so unreliable?" Rogozin told reporters.
He also said that RD-180 rocket engines, which Russia formerly supplied to the Unites States, may now power the new Russian rocket Soyuz-6.
"The Soyuz-6 rocket powered by the RD-180 engine, which we used to supply to the United States for a long time, will have approximately the same diameters [as Soyuz-5) but will be shorter," Rogozin said.
Rogozin said that the United States was considering Russia's disconnection from GPS global positioning system as part of the sanctions.
"Do you know that the United States is considering possible disconnection of the Russian Federation from the GPS navigation service within the framework of sanctions? Do you know that? You don't. Yet I can tell you that the option is being considered," he said.
Russia has its own satellite navigation system, Glonass, Rogozin said.
"I have another question for you: should we be worried?" he said, speaking of Russia's possible disconnection from GPS service.
"I can tell you that we should not, because every smart phone of yours - you do not know that, and I know it for a fact - is connected to Glonass. If GPS is disconnected, Glonass will be working. It has the same precision as GPS. Everything will be fine," Rogozin said.