Russian rockets are stuck at European spaceport. Authorities have a problem

The Russians and French reached an agreement on the Guiana Space Center in 2005. Since 2012, the Roscosmos space agency has been using Soyuz 2 launch vehicles at the site. For years, Russian equipment has been used, among other things, for the launch of European satellites. In February 2022, shortly after the attack on Ukraine, Russia withdrew its engineers but left the rockets. This decision significantly influenced the future of the spaceport in French Guiana and has caused problems that are still felt today.

Russian rockets are stuck at the European spaceport in French Guiana

citing four anonymous officials, reports that at least two Soyuz 2s are still sitting in silos at the Kourou spaceport. As journalists have learned, the management of the rockets is a serious problem for the authorities. Remaining in place, the equipment takes up space that is crucial for further development. Especially since it is located in the area of ​​the Guiana Space Center, which is to be allocated for the purposes of the private space agency program.

On the other hand, the idea of ​​sending back the rockets, each worth $80 million, to Russia, which is under American and European sanctions, raises legitimate political concerns. Initially, there were voices that an exchange would be planned – the Russians would get their Soyuzes back and in return they would give back 36 satellites of the French company Eutelsat OneWeb, which they still keep at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. However, in a statement to Politico, the French National Space Research Center (CNES) confirmed that there were no plans to send back the rockets. The conviction that giving key technology to an aggressor is too risky won out.

European agencies want to develop their program, but Russian equipment takes its place

Serious geopolitical doubts are not the end of the difficulties caused by the presence of the rockets. Since Russian engineers were working on the Soyuz rockets, CNES and European Space Agency (ESA) employees are not prepared to dismantle and transport them. What’s more, the departure of the Russian experts alone has taken away the Guiana Space Center’s access to technology that is key to the launch of European satellites. The crisis was further deepened by delays in work on the French Ariane 6 rocket and problems with the Italian Vega-C – the news portal reminds.

Now, after the first launch of Ariane 6 on July 9 this year, and with more flights coming soon, the European space program could start to gain momentum again. The French themselves recently invested 47 million euros in a program to expand the digital infrastructure and are actively looking for specialists to work at the spaceport. In the context of all these steps, however, the Soyuzes that are taking up space still seem like a serious problem. According to Politico sources, talks are still underway at the highest level about the fate of the Russian rockets.