2022-02-13 07:07:19
Almost four years have passed since Dmitry Rogozin became general director of Roscosmos, the state corporation that manages Russia’s civil and human aircraft programs, rocket production and space technology development. . This agency was formerly known as the Russian Space Agency, then the Russian Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Today, Roscosmos is a large entity, with about 170,000 employees at various companies. It is tasked with implementing and inheriting the legacies of the Soviet space program that once dominated the world, such as the world’s first satellite launch, first astronaut and countless space stations. space.
However, under Rogozin’s management, Roscosmos’s fortunes dwindled. He once mocked NASA for not having its own means of transporting astronauts into space, while Russia has Soyuz. Before long, however, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon appeared in 2020 as a response.
The head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin.
In December last year, a Russian mainstream newspaper published an essay strongly criticizing Roscosmos’ performance since Rogozin took the helm in May 2018. The article describes it as a wasteful, increasingly decaying business where almost no money is left to be invested in current or future programs. Instead, its focus seems to be on providing well-paying jobs to a handful of managers, with Rogozin at the helm.
Criticized article “serious leadership weakness” at Roscosmos and said the country’s once glorious space program was “rotten from within.”
However, after all this, Rogozin’s salary increased significantly during his time at Roscosmos. His salary information is provided by Transparency International and is based on conversion rates at the beginning of each year. In 2020, Rogozin was paid $1.3 million, and this amount does not include the perks of the job, such as four cars, real estate ownership, in addition to off-the-book earnings.
Rogozin can be said to have seen an amazing increase in his income since coming to Roscosmos. Before moving in, he earned about $100,000 a year as a vice president in the Russian government. In 2018, his salary increased to 513,000 USD, and in 2019, the number has increased to 639,000 USD.
For comparison, the US space agency NASA, which has a budget many times larger than Roscosmos, only pays its head, Administrator Bill Nelson, an annual salary of $185,100.
Nor did Rogozin have any special qualifications to justify such a salary at Roscosmos. He graduated from journalism school. However, this man really has a trump card. He is a close and loyal political ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
The highlight of Russia’s recent space program was the inclusion of an actress on set.
Meanwhile, the sad reality behind this is that Russia’s once remarkable space program is now showing signs of stagnation. The excellent engineers and technicians at Roscosmos are paid very low salaries. The agency also does not have the funds to clean up or improve its deteriorating facilities. Roscosmos is even having trouble building its main vehicle, the Soyuz rocket, and is having problems with the Progress spacecraft, the cargo vehicle for segments aboard the International Space Station. Russia.
Rogozin once promised the effectiveness of Russia’s rocket launches when he said there would be 44 launches into space in 2019, but only 25 of them have already been carried out. In 2020, 40 launches have been planned and only 17 are underway. In 2021, Russia made less than half of its 47 planned launches. In the end, to avoid criticism, Roscosmos decided not to publish the expected number of launches anymore.
Refer arstechnica
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