Oleksandr Nehoda, director general of the National Space Agency of Ukraine (NSAU), believes that the latest Tsyklon-4 launch vehicle is the “top priority of the space industry,” for it will meet the growing requirements in cheap light and medium class rockets. The memorandum signed in early 2002 between the NSAU and the Brazilian Space Agency about launching Ukrainian rockets from the Alcantara site lays fine groundwork for the implementation of this international project. Of paramount importance is the proximity of the Brazilian launch pad to the equator. Mr. Nehoda emphasized that a rocket launched from Alcantara is one and a half times as effective, in terms of energy saving, as one launched in Russia. Ukrainian experts are expected to visit Brazil in late March or early April to solve all the technical issues.
After independence a total of 65 Zenit-2, Zenit-3SL, Tsyklon-2, Tsyklon-3, and Dnipro booster rockets have been successfully launched and 123 satellites put into orbit, out of which nine were designed and made in Ukraine. This allows Ukraine to rank fourth or fifth in the world in terms of space activity. It is planned to launch another seven satellites in 2002, Mr. Nehoda said on February 28 at a press conference devoted to the NSAU’s tenth anniversary.
Approximately thirty industrial enterprises, design bureaus, and research institutes now constitute the space exploration sector in Ukraine. With 55% of the output being export-oriented, it is planned, according to Mr. Nehoda, to increase export deliveries by 1.5 times in the next five years. As the NSAU director noted, the sector tries to be independent of the budget: state funds currently account for not more than 10% of all the money allotted, with the sector becoming further commercialized.
Mr. Nehoda is convinced that, taking into account the current rates of information space expansion, Ukraine needs a telecommunication satellite of its own. The telecommunication satellite project, to be implemented by attracting commercial capital, will cost $200 million. The NSAU and State Telecommunications Committee are now drafting a feasibility study of this project intended for a high-profile informational market. According to Mr. Nehoda, ten television companies have already shown interest in relaying their programs via the satellite. In addition, the ever- growing Internet is also pinning great hopes on the project.
