Meeting with Roscosmos General Director Dmitry Bakanov

Vladimir Putin: Mr Bakanov, first of all, congratulations to you, all Russian cosmonauts and everybody involved in the space industry, on this holiday. This year, we mark the 65th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's spaceflight. Last year was generally positive for the industry, with 17 launches and 97 spacecraft launched. The consolidated revenue grew by 10 percent and exceeded 500 billion rubles. I believe it amounted to 508 billion. So, overall, the industry is doing quite well. I know there are plenty of problems that have accumulated over a long period of time. What do you think about its current state and prospects? Which areas require additional support?

Dmitry Bakanov Bakanov DmitryGeneral Director of the Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities : Mr President, I will report in a minute.

First, I would like to thank you, on behalf of the entire industry, for the Space Week that was your gift to us, and for the executive order that established the Space Week, raising awareness of all industry workers.

We held more than 1,000 events for dozens of millions of people. Those were educational, cultural, awareness, and sporting events. For example, the Znanie Society held a Talking of What Matters lesson for 21 million school pupils and college students. More than 12 million Russians watched space films in cinemas. The Space Week has returned the space discourse to our society.

Now, I would like to go over the performance statistics that we managed to achieve in 2025 and over the first months of 2026.

As you have already mentioned, last year, we held 17 launches, plus five more this year so far. The launches took place at three space launch centres, Plesetsk, Vostochny and Baikonur, using four launch vehicles: the Angara and Proton heavy-lift launch vehicles, the Soyuz medium-lift launch vehicle, and the Angara 1.2 small-lift launch vehicle.

Right now at Baikonur, we have a brand-new launch vehicle for the first time since 2014. Soyuz-5 is the launch vehicle for the project with our Kazakhstani partners called Bayterek. All assembly units and equipment are currently in the testing phase. The launch vehicle has already been lifted vertically. It is now undergoing pre-launch horizontal calibration.

In the next slide, you can see the statistics regarding the orbital group that has reached 364 spacecraft. As you have said, 97 were launched last year. During the first quarter of 2026, 134 were launched.

Perhaps the biggest long-awaited event took place two weeks ago. Our low-orbit broadband connection group of satellites was set up to operate in every corner of the planet and, of course, Russia.

Vladimir Putin: It is a momentous moment, congratulations once again.

Dmitry Bakanov: Thank you very much. But it is not just us who deserve congratulations - the private companies making this project happen do as well.

We say space is above politics - yet our so-called friends did everything they could to prevent this launch. There were some serious incidents, including attacks on the space launch centre that day, but nevertheless, the joint combat crews of Roscosmos and the Space Forces carried out their mission.

We also maintain a fully operational Glonass navigation system of 24 spacecraft, with five in reserve. If any of them reaches the end of its active life, we can replace it immediately.

Vladimir Putin: I think you once said that to maintain a stable, reliable constellation, [we need] about 27 spacecraft.

Dmitry Bakanov: The system has a full specification of 24 satellites, sometimes with an additional orbital reserve of three, but right now we have five on the ground. If something goes wrong, we can launch one or two more. But for now, everything is working smoothly.

Mr President, I would like to turn to the next section - something of particular importance: the development of private space exploration. This is being delivered as part of the Space National Project. We are receiving tremendous support from the Government, including Mikhail Mishustin personally, and Denis Manturov as well. And, as you directed, last year, the corresponding federal law, Federal Law 540 On Earth Remote Sensing Data, was passed, making this service a paid one, and the relevant funds have been allocated.

How does this mechanism work? Private companies produce the equipment that transmits data and video services. This data is then purchased, allowing private companies to recoup their investments.

This has stimulated the emergence of a number of new players. Sputnix was already in the market, with about 40 AIS satellites - identification systems for maritime vessels. Six Zorky optical-electronic Earth remote sensing satellites were also in operation, and they are now engaged in high-resolution imaging. MT-Lab and Stilsoft are also active in this segment. Geoscan and Novy Kosmos are developing services in this area too.

Among government agencies, the most active is the Federal Registration Service, which uses this data for the cadastral register. The Emergencies Ministry is a major customer, as is the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, along with its subordinate agencies and federal executive authorities such as the Federal Agency for Management of Mineral Resources, the Federal Service for Natural Resources, and the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring.

I will also specifically mention the New Start project. It's a joint project…

Vladimir Putin: Sailors definitely need something like this.

Dmitry Bakanov: Exactly. I have already named the main ones. We have radar data for both Northern Sea Route and Rosatom. But the most important customers are the Federal Registration Service, the Emergencies Ministry, and the Ministry of Natural Resources.

A few words about the New Start project. Currently, private investors are putting tens of billions of rubles into it. And just this week, we agreed on an eight-year investment of 600 billion rubles. Where will this money go? First, into the conversion of the Topol. Together with the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering and the legendary General Designer Yury Solomonov, we are preparing for a launch and developing a rocket for launching satellites weighing up to 500 kilograms into a 500-kilometre orbit from the Vostochny Cosmodrome.

The second investment area is telecommunications satellite construction. They are currently consolidating a number of assets in this field - outside Roscosmos's purview but still within the space industry - and, as I have already mentioned, they will invest approximately 600 billion rubles in the development and production of launch vehicles, including a reusable one.

To ensure that our economic performance can compete with all the leading developments worldwide, we are working with the Government and a number of state agencies to develop a mechanism for implementing this properly.

Vladimir Putin: When do you expect to do it?

Dmitry Bakanov: The first launch of the New Start conversion rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome is expected in the first quarter of 2027. The consolidation of the satellite construction assets outside Roscosmos's scope is expected by the end of 2026. As soon as we polish up the conditions in cooperation with the Government and the other state agencies, the first round of investment is expected to come in, also by the end of this year. This sort of investment is a great reinforcement for us right now.

I will briefly give you the main details on the manned programme. Last year, the final decision was made to tilt the orbit. As you know, and Mr Manturov explained it to you in detail, the decision was made after the Bion satellite of the Russian Academy of Sciences was launched - and we appreciate Gennady Krasnikov's efforts - into the polar orbit. The radiation level turned out to be higher. Our task is to extend missions so that crews can remain in orbit for as long as possible. But it would simply be impossible due to higher radiation levels.

Vladimir Putin: Was the dispute resolved?

Dmitry Bakanov: Yes, we held a presidium meeting at the Russian Academy of Sciences with both civilian and military participants.

Vladimir Putin: How long can the crew remain in this high-altitude orbit?

Dmitry Bakanov: Right now, up to 270 days. I believe we can reach 365 days easily.

The radiation is 20 percent higher at the previously determined orbit. Therefore, Mr President, we can't risk the cosmonauts' health or cut missions short.

Mr President, the next section focuses on the improvement of our space launch centres. As you know, there was a long-term construction project at Vostochny, for the Angara launch pad. To be more precise, as Marat Khusnullin reported to you, the structure itself was 90 percent complete, but the final start-up and commissioning phase was considerably dragged out on paper.

Mr President, the day before yesterday, we received construction statements, and yesterday, we signed an operation permit for the Angara launch pad. So, that is done.

We plan to launch three more important and serious facilities into operation by the end of the year. They include an airport facility, an assembly and testing centre for Angara rockets, and an enroute facility on Sakhalin to support the launch of launch vehicles from Vostochny. We are working with our contractors to ensure they meet the deadlines as they have slightly missed some here and there.

Regarding Baikonur, thanks to your executive order, we have fixed the unfair practice around housing…

Vladimir Putin: Will they finish the new launch pad at Vostochny by the end of 2026?

Dmitry Bakanov: Yes, of course. It is going according to schedule. Because it is a rollout launch pad, it needs a different infrastructure from stationary launch pads, so the works are underway as planned. The funds have been provided in sufficient amounts. General Designer of the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering Yury Solomonov is inspecting this cooperation every month. You have to give him credit, he does not cut anybody slack. He will check everything.

Thanks to your executive order, we have fixed the unfair practice around housing certificates for special military operation veterans. Now they are priority recipients.

Vladimir Putin: Do you mean those living at Baikonur?

Dmitry Bakanov: Yes.

Now, a brief overview of the industry's key figures. The rocket and space industry currently employs 165,000 people across around 110 enterprises in 33 regions of the Russian Federation. Crucially, about 10,000 of them already work for more than ten private commercial space companies. Salaries have increased by 16 percent over the past year, averaging 118,000 rubles.

We have also rolled out a project - a consortium of Roscosmos-affiliated universities, which now includes 28 institutions. In Moscow, the best-known are Bauman Moscow State University, the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Moscow State University, and the Moscow Aviation Institute; in St Petersburg - Baltic State Technical University; in Samara, Samara National Research University; and in Krasnoyarsk, the Siberian State Aerospace University.

Vladimir Putin: By the way, how is the city itself coming along at Vostochny? There were issues there, and we were planning to address them, including the construction of residential buildings and social facilities.

Dmitry Bakanov: This year, two social facilities have been completed, two buildings with 215 flats - and the keys have been handed over. Another 250 flats across two more buildings are also due to be finished soon.

Vladimir Putin: I suggested earlier looking into merging some of those social facilities with Gazprom companies operating in the area.

Dmitry Bakanov: Yes, an urban cluster is being formed there jointly with both Gazprom and Novatek. And we are working very closely on this with the governor, Vasily Orlov. That is helping to ease some of the pressure.

Vladimir Putin: That should create synergy - a useful synergy.

Dmitry Bakanov: Absolutely. They will be expanding in any case, so this evolutionary cluster will take shape naturally.

Vladimir Putin: Excellent.

Dmitry Bakanov: Now, in terms of enterprise operational efficiency. Clearly, we need to increase output per person. That is impossible without robotics and cutting-edge digital manufacturing solutions. We launched GigaChat into orbit to help cosmonauts, so they no longer have to write reports. Instead, they just dictate what is happening during experiments, and artificial intelligence translates that into reports and transmits them to Earth.

We also installed the MAX messenger, and Sergei Kud-Sverchkov uses it to talk to his family and contact our press service. He sends the space images from orbit via MAX.

But the most important thing for us is to start using artificial intelligence for design and modelling. Even now, computer modelling has made it possible to reduce engine firings - for example, instead of five, they do two real firings and simulate the other three on a computer. This significantly cuts the cost of operating and preparing equipment for launch.

Vladimir Putin: Good, as long as this does not come at the expense of reliability and quality.

Dmitry Bakanov: That is why we are working hard to ensure that mathematical modelling can translate 100 percent into analysis and design. Why? Because the world is moving at a breakneck speed: design is happening fast, and more importantly, so is implementation. With generative design, you can immediately send certain parts to additive printing, which is exactly what we are actively introducing at our engine-building holding companies. These include Energomash, the Chemical Automatics Design Bureau in Khimki and Voronezh.

What is more, we are currently moving a serial production facility from Khimki to Perm Motors, because we have managed to open a state-of-the-art production site there.

Vladimir Putin: Mr Bakanov, how long have you been in this role?

Dmitry Bakanov: One year and two months.

Vladimir Putin: You clearly know the ropes, and I think you have already found your feet in the industry.

Dmitry Bakanov: What choice did I have? It is a noble mission, so thank you for the trust. I am doing everything I can to live up to it.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

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