How Russia is aiming to re-enter the space race

Ivan Kosenkov, space laywer

“I’m Ivan Kosenkov. I’m a space lawyer – a specialist in deciphering the legal, political, and economic rules governing space activities.”

“Smooth intro,” I thought when I met Ivan at Russia’s technology fair Open Innovations Forum in October.

Ivan was the first Russian to enroll at the Institute of Space and Telecommunications Law (IDEST) in Paris, he says. IDEST is one of the few academic institutions around the globe that offers this kind of specialization. Ivan interned at the European Space Agency, and worked at Russia’s space agency Roscosmos in a research position. Now, he’s writing a dissertation on space debris, while also working with some of Russia’s most interesting up-and-coming space tech companies.

It wasn’t always this way. Ivan started out studying at Novosibirsk State University’s law faculty like many others. But the future seemed boring. One day, it hit him.

The crazy idea came to my head during an International Public Law course. There was one line in the book – ‘Law of outer space’. It sounded big, interesting, and new. I found out that the domain of law regulating space-related activities is recent and still forming. There is still room for creativity and a possibility to make an impact. Not to mention that space activities are kind of a national idea for Russian people.

Yuri Gagarin monument in Moscow. Photo credit: nikolay semenov

‘We’re in the middle of a space renaissance’

Any visitor to Moscow will notice how much space travel means to the nation. Monuments erected throughout the city celebrate the era of Sputnik and Gagarin. Among them are the majestic “Monument to the Conquerors of Space,” the colossal Hotel Cosmos, or the futuristic statue of Yuri Gagarin, all located in central Moscow.

Even today, Russia is one of the most active space-faring nations. Of the six people in space right now – all of them are aboard the International Space Station – three are Russian.

Monument to the conquerors of space in Moscow, 1967. Photo credit: Wikipedia

State agencies like Roscosmos and Nasa are no longer the only space explorers. Space tech innovation is increasingly driven by the private sector and its commercial interests. High-profile companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX demonstrated that comparatively small teams, with a startup mindset adopted from Silicon Valley, can perform rocket science.

Skolkovo space cluster

Promising fields and startups