Ukraine’s little-known space achievements industry
The war in Ukraine endangers space development, not just because of sanctions imposed on Russia. Ukraine plays an underappreciated but critical role in the global space scene.
Many Ukraine’s little-known space programs and rockets would almost certainly not exist without Ukraine’s space industry.
Ukraine’s little-known space: Since the 1950s, Ukraine has been a significant player in the global space industry. It is now a world leader in designing and manufacturing space launch vehicles, rocket engines, spacecraft, and electronic components.
The state-owned company Yuzhmash, which collaborates closely with Yuzhnoye. A Ukrainian designer of satellites and rockets, is one of Ukraine’s leading space manufacturers. Both companies were establish in the 1950s and report to Ukraine’s State Space Agency (SSAU).
The successful European Space Agency (ESA) rocket family Vega. Which recently celebrated its tenth anniversary, has a Ukrainian-made rocket engine in its upper stage, which detaches from the rocket also then places the payload into the desired orbit.
The Vega launch vehicle is used to blast off small payloads; a newer version, the Vega-C, is currently in development also will be available later this year.
Yuzhnoye also designed the Zenit rocket family to replace the outdated Soviet-era Tsyklon and Soyuz rocket families. The Zenit rocket family’s final flight took off in December 2017 after 71 successful launches.
The Soyuz family has been the most widely use launch vehicle globally since its first flight in the 1960s. Soyuz rockets were the only approved liftoff vehicle for dispatching astronauts to the International Space Station. After the rear of the Space Shuttle program in 2011 and until SpaceX’s Falcon 9 mission in 2020. (ISS).
The ISS is constantly in need of new supplies. They use various spacecraft, such as SpaceX’s Dragon, Russia’s Progress, or the Cygnus; Carried by an Antares launch vehicle developed jointly by Northrop Grumman and Ukraine’s Yuzhnoye.
Furthermore, parts of the rocket engine technology currently being develop by Rocket Factory Ausburg. A German start-up attempting to build the world’s cheapest rocket, are source from Ukraine’s Yuzhmash, according to the company.
