Russian space company buys 12 rockets from Ukrainian state-owned enterprise
The Ukrainian enterprise "Southern Machine Building Plant" ("Yuzhmash") has concluded a contract with the Russian company S7 Sea Launch for the production and delivery of 12 Zenit launch vehicles. This was reported on the website of the Ukrainian company.
"The contract stipulates the production of 12 launch vehicles for use in the Sea Launch and Ground Launch programs," the report said. The company explained that rockets are needed "for the exploration and use in outer space for peaceful purposes, within the framework of international space projects."
According to the announcement, at the moment two Zenit-3SLB and Zenit-3SL rockets are in production. "By signing this contract, a big step was taken in overcoming the deep crisis which Yuzhmash had been in since 2013," the report says. The company explained that the crisis occurred due to a collapse in production volumes.
"Sea Launch" is a floating cosmodrome, an international commercial sea-based rockets and space complex project. It was established in 1995 as an international consortium for commercial space launches. The founders of the Sea Launch company are the American Boeing company, the Russian RSC Energia, the Norwegian shipbuilding company Kvaerner (currently Aker Solutions), and the Ukrainian companies Yuzhnoye and Yuzhmash. In 2009, the company Sea Launch announced bankruptcy.
In September 2016, S7 Group announced the purchase of the Sea Launch offshore platform for $ 160 million from RSC Energia. "The acquisition of the cosmodrome is" an entrance ticket "for us [S7 Group] in the space industry," said the main owner of the company, Vladislav Filev, at the time. "Space infrastructure is developing very rapidly; it is a very interesting line of business that has good long-term prospects," he noted.
S7 Group is a Russian holding company that includes ten companies: S7 Airlines, S7 Tour, Globus, S7 Ticket, C7 space transportation systems, etc. Besides launching space rockets and putting space objects into orbit, the holding company carries out air transportation and is engaged in aircraft maintenance.