Space industry in Russia - statistics & facts

Russia is one of the leading countries in space program spending. The direct successor to the Soviet Union, the country carries the legacy of the first satellite Sputnik 1, in 1957, and the first human spaceflight performed by Yuri Gagarin in 1961. In addition, the Soviet Union claimed the first woman in space in 1963 and the first cosmonaut to perform a spacewalk in 1965. Between 1961 and 1991, the Soviet Union sent 71 human-crewed space missions. Today, space exploration is a significant income source for the national budget. The revenue of the Russian space agency Roscosmos amounted to 17.46 billion Russian rubles in 2020 alone. The term "cosmonaut" is used in the country to describe an astronaut, while a "cosmodrome" refers to an aerospace center.

How many space launches did Russia have in 2021?

Russia conducted 24 space launches in 2021, all of which were successful. Ten were federal, with the remainder being distributed among commercial, defense ministry, and cooperative launches. Four spaceports were used: the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Plesetsk cosmodrome near Arkhangelsk, the Vostochny cosmodrome in the Amur Oblast, and the Kourou cosmodrome in French Guiana. Following a decade of break, Russia resumed its space tourism program in 2021 by dispatching the Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and his assistant on a 12-day trip around the Moon on December 8.

How many people work for the Russian space industry?

The number of people working in the Russian space industry has been declining over the past years, which was attributed to the sale of non-core assets, the optimization of production processes, and the outsourcing of some functions. As of 2020, the Russian space industry counted 181 thousand employees, down 51 thousand from four years prior. An estimated 44 percent of the employees were women. In April 2021, the government approved the resolution to improve the financial well-being of space workers. The average monthly salary of a Russian cosmonaut with a least one spaceflight increased to over 139 thousand Russian rubles.

Industry outlook

The value of assets owned by Roscosmos increased significantly between 2018 and 2020. Furthermore, the Russian government projects stable expenditures for space activities over the next three years. As part of the Federal Space Program from 2016 to 2025, the country's administration plans to launch eight spacecraft to study the Moon, Mars, and other solar system planets. However, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has strained administrative relations between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and Roscosmos. In February 2022, Russia decided to suspend cooperative space launches from the Kourou cosmodrome in French Guiana. Furthermore, the country decided to withdraw from the International Space Station at the end of 2024.

This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.

Government expenditure on space programs: 3.4bn USD

Average monthly salary of an experienced cosmonaut: 135.8k RUB

Number of satellites in orbit: 172