New boss for Roscosmos as Yury Borisov binned

Roscosmos boss Yury Borisov has been fired from the Russian space agency by executive order of the country’s president, Vladimir Putin.

According to The Moscow Times, Borisov will be replaced by Dmitry Bakanov, who headed the state-backed satellite communications company, Gonets.

A Kremlin spokesperson said that there were “no complaints” about Borisov and that the change was simply a “rotation.” The spokesperson also discussed the need for Roscosmos to “develop dynamically.”

Borisov replaced the colorful Dmitry Rogozin, who led Roscosmos with a combination of bluster and buffoonery. His frequent outbursts, including the infamous “trampoline” comment of 2014, in which he speculated how US astronauts might reach the International Space Station (ISS), were a thorn in the side of the world’s space agencies.

While Borisov appeared relatively stable compared to his predecessor, the Russian space program has floundered during his tenure. In 2023, the country’s first mission to the Moon in decades, Luna 25, failed. Borisov also signed off on a Russian space station, the first module of which was supposed to have launched in 2027 but has now slipped to 2028.

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Additionally, Borisov presided over a historically low launch cadence for Russia. The invasion of Ukraine resulted in the termination of launch contracts and the withdrawal of cooperation by Western space agencies and commercial operations. However, crew and cargo continue to be launched to the ISS on Russian rockets.

Bakanov will have his work cut out. Roscosmos requires funding to meet its goals while also supporting the ISS. The station has an ongoing air leak from the Russian portion of the outpost. In 2023, spacewalking cosmonauts were tasked with inspecting and isolating a coolant leak from a radiator attached to the Nauka module.

Leaks were noted from Soyuz and Progress spacecraft too, resulting in astronauts having to extend their stays aboard the outpost while managers deal with the issue.

While Borisov’s contribution during his short time as Director General of Roscosmos might be characterized as “well, at least he wasn’t Rogozin,” he did stick around long enough to see Roscosmos relegated from its post as chief punchline to many ISS jokes. Boeing’s Starliner saw to that. ®