President Vladimir Putin has directed Roscosmos and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives to explore and plan the creation and design of spacecraft capable of operating in extremely low Earth orbits, defined as altitudes up to 200 kilometers. The instruction comes from the Kremlin press service, outlining a strategic initiative announced after a plenary session of the Strong Ideas for a New Time forum. The emphasis is on developing vehicles that can function reliably at these exceptionally low altitudes, where atmospheric drag and space environment conditions pose significant technical challenges.
Officials indicate that the mandate includes not only conceptual studies but also the development of prototype designs suitable for pilot testing. By laying out concrete deliverables, the government aims to establish a pathway from theoretical concept to tangible hardware that can be evaluated through initial flight experiments. The directive specifies that the work should culminate in the preparation of pilot studies that verify feasibility and performance parameters under real-world conditions relevant to such close proximity to Earth.
The assignments were issued to Yuri Borisov, the head of Roscosmos, and Svetlana Chupsheva, the director general of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives. A deadline was set for completion by December 1 of the current year, signaling urgency and a tightly coordinated timeline between the space agency and the private-sector accelerator body to align resources, talent, and funding.
This development follows a broader pattern of Russian space policy that actively examines high-precision, time-critical applications in space. Earlier this year, Putin also directed defense ministry leadership to assess complementary infrastructure opportunities, including the potential establishment of a navigation facility to support the Navy’s Pacific Fleet. The proposal, notably connected to Sakhalin Island, underscores a dual track of civil space exploration and military-civil cooperation in strategic regional contexts.
In parallel, there has been mention of extending experimental ranges for unmanned aerial systems and drone research as part of a broader push to expand Russia’s capabilities in autonomous platforms. The evolving portfolio of projects reflects an overarching aim to diversify Russia’s space and defense tech base, accelerate domestic design and manufacturing, and bolster research and development across both state and affiliated industrial entities. The focus on extremely low orbits complements ongoing discussions about satellite servicing, rapid deployment of small satellites, and the exploration of orbit regimes where close-in observation and rapid orbital maneuvering could deliver new kinds of data and services.
The instruction to pursue ultraclose-orbit spacecraft indicates a strategic willingness to push current engineering boundaries. Experts note that operating near 200 kilometers involves intense atmospheric interaction, requiring innovative propulsion, materials, thermal protection, and attitude control solutions. The push will likely involve cross-disciplinary teams spanning propulsion, avionics, communications, and mission operations, as well as rigorous ground testing, wind tunnel simulations, and high-fidelity simulations of rare-event scenarios. If successful, these efforts could open up new mission profiles, such as high-temporal-resolution Earth observation, rapid-response communication relays, and experimental technologies that benefit both civilian and national security interests.
The December deadline will compel a phased approach: first, comprehensive feasibility studies; second, the design of modular, scalable prototype concepts; and finally, hardware architectures that can be validated through staged ground-based and flight tests. The collaboration between Roscosmos and the ASI is expected to leverage the agency’s accelerator expertise alongside the space agency’s deep engineering capabilities, signaling a renewed emphasis on domestically led innovation in space technology. As the year unfolds, observers will watch closely to see how the plans evolve, what budgets and milestones are established, and how international partnerships might influence future developments in Russia’s space program.