Dauria Aerospace to raise VEB funds to create a new satellite platform

VEB and Dauria Aerospace JSC entered into a cooperation agreement during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The document was signed by Chairman of Vnesheconombank Sergey Gorkov and Managing Director of Dauria Aerospace JSC Sergey Ivanov.

The agreement envisages strategic partnership in the delivery of Russian private space company projects and the possibility of further investment support and provision of project financing. This primarily relates to the project of a small geostationary Atom platform, which Dauria Aerospace has been developing for more than two years.

Atom is a satellite platform with a mass of about 1 ton, designed for the placement of telecommunication devices in geostationary orbit. One of its features is low mass as compared to analogues, and the use of electric propulsion systems ensuring the satellite launch from low-Earth orbit and a long period of stay at the specified point of orbit. Technical specifications of the space platform being developed ensure its future marketability both in the domestic and international markets.

The Russian commercial space company Gazprom Space Systems JSC (GSS JSC) has expressed interest in the Atom project. The cooperation agreement between GSS JSC and Dauria Aerospace JSC was signed in February 2017. The companies defined their willingness and interest in the joint development of the geostationary Atom platform, its manufacture at the assembly facility of GSS, and sales in international space technology markets.

“As part of the new strategy, VEB is actively supporting projects focused on the priority development of those industries in which Russia may be a global leader. We see a great potential in the small spacecraft creation projects implemented by Dauria Aerospace. Our VEB Innovations fund previously supported the company in the development of Auriga microsatellite platform for an Earth surface survey. The assembly stage of the first spacecraft for flight test performance starts in 2017. We are sure that the company’s projects will boost the development of a broad range of industries,” notes Sergey Gorkov.

“Communication satellites represent a huge market, which is still rather conservative in terms of technology. Innovations are less frequently launched into geostationary orbit than near-Earth orbit. Drawing on the experience of creating small satellites for near-Earth orbit, we have been developing the platform for communication satellites for more than two years and have attracted interest to our solution of the customers from developing countries. Cooperation with VEB Group will help us to significantly accelerate its development and bring it to piloting capacity,” says Sergey Ivanov.

State Corporation “Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank)” is a national development bank and one of the largest financial institutions in Russia. Established in 1924, Vnesheconombank has been operating in compliance with a special Federal Law on the Bank for Development since 2007. Vnesheconombank’s supreme governing body is the Supervisory Board headed by the Chairman of the Russian Government Dmitry Medvedev. In compliance with the Strategy 2021, VEB will focus on financing high value added industrial projects; infrastructure development, non-resource exports, defense industry conversion to civilian products, innovations and National Technological Initiative projects.

Dauria Aerospace is a group of companies established in 2011 by Russian businessmen to develop advanced spacecraft and enter the global space market. The companies belonging to the Group possess Roscosmos license for space activities, and are partners and residents of Skolkovo Foundation, and are members of the international Pangeo Alliance group. Dauria Aerospace has developed two microsatellite platforms that successfully passed flight tests. Three spacecraft manufactured by the company were launched into low-Earth orbit in 2014. For the first time in the history of private business in Russia, the company manufactured two small spacecraft under a state contract from Roscosmos. The company is currently developing several near-Earth, geostationary and interplanetary spacecraft projects for various customers.

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