Last week I read a piece in
Parabolic Arc stating the Ukrainian space industry was close to collapsing. The article relates to Yazhmash, the rocket manufacturer and cornerstone of the Ukrainian space industry, and its recent notice about problems with orders from the Russians. The article quotes the company's press release:
Yuzhmash
Yuzhmash
Factor of negative trends – landslide production cutbacks
due to rupture of ties with traditional customers, who provided most of the
orders.
The actual bankruptcy of the enterprise will result in the
loss of Ukraine’s status as a space power, failure of the obligations of the
State to enter into international agreements, irreversible loss of proven
technologies.
At present, the SE “PA YuMZ behalf AM Makarov” is a
participant in the high-tech large-scale international projects: "Sea Launch","Land Launch", "Taurus II / Antares", "Dnepr","Cyclone-4", "Vega".
For instance, Orbital Science's uses the
Antares rocket that was built in cooperation with Yazhmash.
Russian has been threatening for some time to find substitutes for the Ukrainian rocket parts, with the
Moscow Times noting
:
Russia's dependence on Ukrainian defense imports is a by-product of the
collapse of the former Soviet Union. When the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist
Republic became an independent state in 1991, Kiev found itself
in possession of vital Soviet-era defense industry assets such as
the Yuzhmash factory in Eastern Ukraine, which produces space rockets,
satellites and missiles along with machinery for civilian uses.
Bloomberg Business highlighted the company's plight, stating:
Sales to Russia plummeted from $1.7 billion in 2011 to only $28 million
last year, Yuzhmash said in a statement posted on its website last
month. The Dnepropetrovsk-based company owes some $140 million in back
wages to its 15,000 workers and partially suspended manufacturing
operations until late February. The company did not respond to calls
from Bloomberg Business.
Russia has already caused enough problems for Ukraine, and now this. Maybe the US government can find a way to bring Ukraine into its military and civilian space industry while continuing to exclude the Russians.
At
present, the SE “PA YuMZ behalf AM Makarov” is a participant in the
high-tech large-scale international projects:” Sea Launch “,” Land
Launch »,« Taurus II / Antares »,« Dnepr “,” Cyclone-4 »,« Vega ». - See
more at:
http://www.parabolicarc.com/2015/02/10/ukraine-space-industry-verge-collapse/#sthash.TyzNMQhQ.dpuIf you go to the
company's website you will fin
Factor
of negative trends – landslide production cutbacks due to rupture of
ties with traditional customers, who provided most of the orders.
The actual bankruptcy of the enterprise will result in the loss of
Ukraine’s status as a space power, failure of the obligations of the
State to enter into international agreements, irreversible loss of
proven technologies.
- See more at: http://www.parabolicarc.com/2015/02/10/ukraine-space-industry-verge-collapse/#sthash.4nIVIOJO.dpuf
Factor
of negative trends – landslide production cutbacks due to rupture of
ties with traditional customers, who provided most of the orders.
The actual bankruptcy of the enterprise will result in the loss of
Ukraine’s status as a space power, failure of the obligations of the
State to enter into international agreements, irreversible loss of
proven technologies.
- See more at: http://www.parabolicarc.com/2015/02/10/ukraine-space-industry-verge-collapse/#sthash.4nIVIOJO.dpuf