Ukraine ends Sich satellite program, Space Research Institute says
The Ukrainian Sich satellite was last launched in January 2022 (photo: Sich-2-1 Space Agency, facebook.com/yuzhnoye)
Ukraine will not resume launching spacecraft of the Sich series, as these technologies were largely based on old Soviet heritage and rushed decisions. Further developments are possible only in cooperation with international partners, says chief research fellow and former director of the Space Research Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Oleh Fedorov, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
Key points
- No return. The Sich space program is closed, as the technologies are outdated, and restoring decade-old developments is impractical.
- Rushed launch. The last spacecraft, Sich-2-30, launched in 2022, was a rushed project timed for the Independence anniversary and did not deliver the expected result.
- Failed other missions. The satellite project Ionosat-Micro, which was ready before the war, will no longer be implemented in its previous form due to the war.
Why the Sich project became history
The satellites in this series were aimed at Earth observation from space. According to Oleh Fedorov, this was a transitional stage that was partly based on Russian-Ukrainian cooperation and was a continuation of Soviet-era satellite series heritage, in particular the Okean-O type.
Although a purely Ukrainian stage later emerged (Sich-1, Sich-2, Sich-2M), the technological era of these spacecraft has passed.
“Space technologies must rely on new developments, and if there have been none for 10 years, then restoring the previous level is very difficult. Prospects are possible only in cooperation with those who currently hold leading positions in the space industry,” the expert emphasized, answering the question of whether Ukraine will return to the Sich line.
He also explained that the last satellite of this series, launched into orbit in January 2022, was created under overly tight deadlines.
“The last step within this program was in 2019. At that time, the Ministry for Strategic Industries decided that by the Independence Day anniversary of Ukraine in 2021, a new spacecraft should be launched. But it was a rushed project, implemented under difficult conditions, and it did not deliver the expected result,” Fedorov said.
Ukraine is involved in a number of international space programs (RBC-Ukraine infographic)
What other space projects did the war disrupt?
Due to the full-scale invasion, Ukraine also lost another virtually completed scientific spacecraft — Ionosat-Micro. It was a priority project.
This satellite was intended to detect signs of catastrophic events by analyzing ionospheric parameters. It was developed by Pivdenne Design Office, while onboard equipment was created by scientists from Lviv and Dnipro in cooperation with partners from Poland and Bulgaria.
“This was supposed to be a complex experiment. Before the war, the project was essentially ready, but it was never implemented... Time has passed, so it is obvious that we will have to work on something else,” Fedorov concluded.
The director of the Ukrainian company Stetman, Dmytro Stetsenko, said recently that the company is working on creating its own satellite constellation in low Earth orbit. A test satellite is planned to be launched into orbit in October 2026. For the launch, the company has already reached an agreement with SpaceX.
