New Israel spyware targets journalists, politicians in several countries, report finds


A woman checks the website of Israel-made Pegasus spyware at an office in the Cypriot capital Nicosia on July 21, 2021 [MARIO GOLDMAN/AFP via Getty Images]

April 12, 2023 

Canada's Citizen Lab yesterday revealed that a new Israeli spyware similar to the notorious Pegasus program was used to target journalists and opposition politicians in several countries.

The cybersecurity and human rights organisation said that the new programme was designed by a little-known Israeli company called QuaDream Limited, founded by a former Israeli military official and former veteran employee of the NSO company that produced Pegasus.

Citizen Lab, which monitors the misuse of modern electronic devices, was able to identify at least five people who were targeted by the QuaDream program in North America, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

It added that the list of victims includes "journalists, opposition political figures, and an NGO employee", but it did not reveal their identities.

Israel's Pegasus spyware global weapon to silence critics? – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]

Spyware programs such as Pegasus have previously been widely used by governments and other agencies to spy on dissidents, the media and activists.

The White House said in late March that governments had used Pegasus to "facilitate repression and enable human rights abuses."

Citizen Lab said that after being placed on the user's phone or personal computer, the QuaDream spyware can record calls and external sounds, take pictures from cameras, and search in device files without the user's knowledge.

The program can also generate two-factor authentication codes, i.e. passwords and security codes to secure continuous access to the device owner's cloud accounts.

It added that the spyware includes a self-destruct feature to hide its previous existence once it is not being used.

Citizen Lab identified servers in ten countries that received data from victims' devices, including Israel, Singapore, Mexico, the UAE and Bulgaria.

It said that the company QuaDream marketed the spyware it produces to government clients in Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Ghana, Indonesia, Morocco and other countries.

Israel has weaponised food to force Palestinians to abandon rights, claim UN papers

Children wait for taking the soup distributed for people in need by a charity in Gaza on March 24, 2023

 [Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency]

April 12, 2023 

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food has published two papers in which it is said that food has been weaponised by Israel in order to force Palestinians to abandon their legitimate rights. The papers were prepared by the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN) and detail the nature, degree and impact of Israeli violence on Jordanian and Palestinian food systems.

In the paper on the situation, as it affects the Palestinians, the various tactics adopted by the Israeli occupation to use food as a weapon are described. The intention is to make the Palestinians dependent on Israel for food as well as force them to give up their rights. These tactics include "systematically uprooting trees, preventing Palestinians from accessing their lands, and then illegally confiscating fallow lands, in addition to routinely poisoning Palestinian water and soil."

With regard to the situation in Jordan, the APN paper revealed an Israeli plan to damage the agricultural sector in the country by setting fire to land in the Jordan Valley, which represents the cornerstone of national food sovereignty.

OPINION: On World Water Day, spare a thought for the Middle East

The plan also includes the expansion of Israel's "hydro-hegemony over Jordan's water resources through different strategies such as over-pumping and diverting excess water for development projects as well as polluting the southern part of the river with agricultural waste." These violations, said the APN, "had a detrimental impact on Jordan's water resources, which is the second water-scarce country in the world in terms of annual water intake per capita."

The papers demand stricter accountability measures to "hold Israel responsible for its systematic attacks on the Palestinian and Jordanian food systems, and to force Israel to compensate affected farmers for the damages and losses caused by these attacks."

Israel's Ben-Gvir slams decision banning settlers from Al-Aqsa until end of Ramadan


Itamar Ben-Gvir (C)[AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images]

April 12, 2023 

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir slammed an Israeli government decision to ban non-Muslims, including illegal settlers, from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound until the end of Ramadan, Army Radio reported.

Ben-Gvir said that the decision to prevent settlers from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque is a grave mistake that will lead to escalation.

Weakening the police force in Al-Aqsa will create a fertile ground for massive demonstrations and incitement to kill Jews and throw stones at settlers at the Buraq Wall (Western Wall), he added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday announced that a ban was being put in place on non-Muslims entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound until the end of Ramadan.

Netanyahu's office said that the decision was reached after a comprehensive assessment of the security situation. The decision was unanimously recommended by the minister of defence, the police chief, the head of the intelligence service Shin Bet and the police commissioner.

OPINION: Israel is in a downward spiral of self-destruction

Lapid: Israel's Ben-Gvir seeks to set Middle East on fire

Leader of the Opposition Yair Lapid speaks as Israeli people gather in front of parliament to protest against judicial reform plans during a preliminary vote in Jerusalem on February 13, 2023

. [Saeed Qaq - Anadolu Agency]

April 9, 2023 

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on Sunday blamed the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the current tension at Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem, Anadolu reports.

Speaking to the Israeli Public Radio, Lapid accused far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir of seeking to set the Middle East on fire.

He blamed Israeli police violence against worshippers inside Al-Aqsa complex to the "irresponsible behavior" of the Israeli government.

"This is what happens when you give this kind of responsibility to the most radical man in the State of Israel," Lapid said, in reference to Ben-Gvir.

Lapid went on to accuse Ben-Gvir of being a "Tik Tok clown who only wants to set the Middle East on fire."

Early on Sunday, Israeli police forces entered into the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex to secure settler intrusions into the flashpoint site.

Tension escalated across the Palestinian territories in recent days after Israeli forces stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in East Jerusalem and forcibly removed worshippers on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Israeli raids on the mosque triggered rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, with Israeli retaliating with air and artillery shelling.

On Saturday, Israeli police recommended halting settler intrusions into the Al-Aqsa complex during the last 10 days of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan to ease tension, but the recommendation was rejected by Ben-Gvir, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported.

For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world's third-holiest site. Jews, for their part, call the area the Temple Mount, saying it was the site of two ancient Jewish temples.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.

Lapid: 'Making Ben-Gvir responsible for Al-Aqsa Mosque led to disaster'

CIA director says US felt 'blindsided' by Saudi Arabia reconciliation with Iran

CIA Director William Burns testifies during the Senate Select Intelligence Committee hearing on "Worldwide Threats" on Thursday, March 10, 2022. 

[Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images]

April 9, 2023 a

The director of the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is revealed to have expressed displeasure at Saudi Arabia's recent reconciliation with Iran, during an unannounced visit to the kingdom this week.

According to The Wall Street Journal, which cited sources familiar with the matter, CIA director Bill Burns told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his visit that the US felt "blindsided" by the kingdom's rapprochement with Iran and its ally Syria.

Riyadh and Tehran last month agreed to re-establish full diplomatic ties – after around eight years of severed relations – in a deal brokered by China, which many in the international community saw as a blow to US hegemony in the Middle East and the world more broadly.

There have also been indications that Saudi Arabia is preparing to normalise relations with the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, which would also put it at odds with a key American foreign policy stance in the region.

The CIA Director and the US government's main concern, according to the report, was that Washington was frustrated at being left out of regional developments and felt side-lined as a result.

The paper also reported that a US official confirmed that Burns primarily discussed cooperation on intelligence and counterterrorism with Saudi officials.

Rwanda: How Victoire Ingabire's Mother Became 'The Doctor of Death'

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10 APRIL 2023

The New Times (Kigali)

During the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, mothers with babies on their backs were thrown alive in rivers and lakes to drown.

Women and girls were also raped before being killed and their clothes were taken away by the killers.

Among these mass murderers were also horrible women who did horrifying things to their fellow women, and children. They include Thérèse Dusabe, the mother of Victoire Umuhoza Ingabire, who was a midwife at the Butamwa Health Center in Nyarugenge District.

Dusabe collaborated with the Bourgmestre of Butamwa Commune to prepare and chair all the meetings that planned the attacks against the Tutsi in the area.

Testimonies from the Mageragere Gacaca Court showed that Dusabe was nicknamed "the doctor of death" for her cruelty.

As noted, she first killed Tutsi pregnant women and then killed babies by hitting them on the walls.

In 2009, Gacaca Courts sentenced her to life in prison after convicting her of the torture of Tutsi women who were being treated at the Butamwa Health Center.

Dusabe was sentenced in absentia twice in different cases for her role in the Genocide. She was sentenced to 30 years in jail by a Gacaca court for the disembowelment of pregnant Tutsi women and removing the foetuses which she would smash to death in a horrendous manner, officials from the now defunct Gacaca jurisdictions told The New Times in January 2010.

In a separate trial, Dusabe was sentenced to life for masterminding the Genocide by calling for meetings and sensitizing the Interahamwe militias to kill the Tutsi.

After the genocide was stopped, it is reported that Dusabe fled the country and went to Zaire (now DR Congo) from where she managed to find her way to Europe, apparently with the assistance of her daughter, Ingabire, who calls herself a politician.

Ingabire was herself convicted by the Gacaca courts of serious crimes, including genocide ideology, when she arrived in Rwanda from the Netherlands in 2010.

She was arrested in October 2010.

In September 2018, when President Paul Kagame exercised his prerogative of mercy to grant early release to more than 2,000 inmates convicted for various crimes, Ingabire was among those pardoned.

She had served eight years of her 15-year term when she got early release.

Ingabire was arrested in 2010 on evidence, among others, furnished to Rwandan judicial authorities by the Dutch government. Evidence provided by Dutch authorities attested to the fact that she was fundraising for FDLR, a terrorist group based in eastern DR Congo that was formed by the remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi

She was also convicted for inciting the masses to revolt against the government and minimising the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

When interviewed by journalists to comment on the sentences imposed by Gacaca courts replied that she did not trust Gacaca courts because they were run by incompetent people, adding that she only trusted the judges of the now defunct International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania.

When asked about the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and her mother's role, Ingabire laughed.

 

AUKUS nuclear submarine cooperation seriously jeopardizes peace, stability in Asia-Pacific: embassy

(Xinhua) 13:04, April 10, 2023

LONDON, April 8 (Xinhua) -- The United States, Britain and Australia have been pressing ahead with nuclear submarine cooperation despite being widely questioned, which creates nuclear proliferation risks and undermines the international non-proliferation system, the Chinese Embassy in Britain has said.

In response to a question concerning the trilateral Australia-UK-U.S. (AUKUS) cooperation on nuclear submarines, the embassy said on Friday that such cooperation will exacerbate the resurgence of the Cold War mentality, trigger a new round of arms race, and further provoke regional security and military confrontation, seriously jeopardizing regional peace, stability and prosperity.

The Asia-Pacific is now the most dynamic and fastest growing region in the world, which hasn't come easily, the embassy said in a press release. "The AUKUS cooperation is designed to serve the U.S. geopolitical agenda to introduce group politics and Cold War confrontation into the Asia-Pacific with military deterrence. It is aimed at creating a NATO-replica in the Asia-Pacific, which runs counter to peace and stability in the region."

The AUKUS nuclear submarine cooperation marks the first time for nuclear weapon states to transfer naval nuclear propulsion reactors and weapons-grade highly enriched uranium to a non-nuclear weapon state, it noted.

As the current International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards system is incapable of ensuring effective safeguards, such cooperation poses serious nuclear proliferation risks, seriously compromises the authority of the IAEA, and deals a blow to the agency's safeguards system, the embassy said.

"If the three countries are set on advancing the cooperation, other countries will likely follow suit, eventually leading to the collapse of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime," it said.

China urges the three countries to heed the call of the international community and regional countries, discard the outdated zero-sum Cold War mentality and narrow geopolitical mindset, earnestly fulfil their international obligations and do more things that are conducive to regional peace, stability, unity and development, the embassy said.

"This serves the fundamental and long-term interests of regional countries as well as the three countries themselves," it said. "The UK is not a country in the region and it is unwise to overstretch itself."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)

New documentary: “Rojava, the Kurds, Turkey & ISIS”

The documentary “Rojava, the Kurds, Turkey & ISIS” which reveals the Turkish state's complicity with ISIS and the ongoing ISIS threat will be broadcast by German TV channel WDR.

ANF
NEWS DESK
Wednesday, 12 Apr 2023, 13:57

Director Kawa Akrawi and journalist Gulan Akrawi travelled to Rojava/North and East Syria to monitor the situation in the region and shot a documentary on the ground.

According to Gulan Akrawi, the shooting of the documentary began in September 2021.

Director Kawa Akrawi focused on the complicity between the Turkish state and ISIS and the ongoing ISIS threat in the region. The director emphasized the resistance of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), especially the resistance of the Kurdish women.

Gulan Akrawi stated that they also focused on the repeated threats, invasions and attacks of the Turkish state which directly targeted civilians, especially with drones.

The documentary notes that more than 4 million people currently live in Rojava, facing direct threat from the Turkish state and ISIS.

The documentary also touches upon the threat posed by the prisons and camps where ISIS members are held and reveals that more than 50 thousand people, consisting of 12 thousand ISIS detainees and their families, reside in the camps in the region.

The documentary seeks answers to the following questions: How can Rojava protect itself against neighbouring states and the re-emergence of ISIS? What kind of solutions are needed to stop the rise of Islamist militant groups and to rehabilitate children in camps who pose a potential threat to the future?

The 43-minute documentary provides an insight into the great international danger posed by the refugee camps where ISIS families live.

The documentary will be broadcast on April 12 at 22:15 by WDR TV channel on its "Die Story" show, which has a large audience.

Kurdistan National Congress condemns attack on Sulaymaniyah International Airport!

ANF
NEWS DESK
Monday, 10 Apr 2023, 07:49

The Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) issued a statement to condemn the attack on Sulaymaniyah International Airport.

The statement said: "The occupying Turkish state attacked Sulaymaniyah International Airport in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq on 7 April 2023. The constant attacks of the Turkish state on South Kurdistan (northern Iraq) violate the principle of sovereignty and international law, and these unprovoked acts of military aggression are a continuation of the non-stop persecution and massacres of the Kurdish people and endless attacks on the achievements of our people despite war and relentless oppression. The international community and, first and foremost, the Kurdish people and the political parties and groups in Kurdistan, must speak out against these attacks, condemn them without reservation, and make sure they do not go unrecognised and unpunished."

The statement added: "The Turkish state and the racist AKP-MHP regime led by authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are hostile to any assertion of Kurdish identity and openly target the achievements of the Kurdish people in all parts of Kurdistan and throughout the world. We know very well that, with presidential and parliamentary elections approaching in Turkey, Erdogan is in a very difficult position as many in the country have grown weary of his rule after two decades of strife and extreme corruption, and he now wants to carry out attacks against the Kurdish people, their movements, and their leaders to rally support in advance of elections, and public opinion, the international community, and especially the political opposition in Turkey should be aware of this and take a strong stand against this aggression and brutality."

The KNK said it does "not accept, under any circumstances, any legitimisation of the attacks by the Turkish state. Furthermore, we would like to call attention to the statement of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Spokesperson Jotiar Adil, who placed blame for the attack on the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Adil, as a representative of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), cannot impose his party’s politics in the name of the regional government, and his statement was highly inappropriate. It is now necessary to publicly, unambiguously, and unreservedly condemn the attacks of the Turkish state and take a strong stand against this aggression rather than hold the PUK and all Kurds responsible. The use of the name of the KRG in such a way is unacceptable, and no one can remain silent in the face of such hostility, let alone legitimise it. Every such statement emboldens the occupying Turkish state to commit future massacres."

The KNK once again called on "the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, the United Nations, the European Union, and all democratic institutions and Kurdish and Kurdistani political parties and groups to harshly condemn these attacks and take a stand against this aggression."

After 9 years of war, control of Yemen remains divided among 3 sides

Government, Houthi rebels, separatist Southern Transitional Council hold parts of Yemen as sides step up efforts to end devastating conflict

Mohammed Sameai |12.04.2023 

SANAA, Yemen

After nearly nine years of war in Yemen, control of the country's territory stands divided between three major players: The internationally recognized government, Houthi rebels, and the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC).

As optimism is on the rise for restoring peace in the war-torn country following talks in the capital Sanaa, the Saudi-backed government is estimated to control about 55% of Yemen, while the Houthis hold about 25% and the STC about 20%, totaling an approximate 550,000 square kilometers (about 212,000 sq miles).

Despite covering just a quarter of the country's land, Iran-aligned rebel-held areas include the vast majority of Yemen's northern population centers, where roughly half of the nation's 32 million people live.

On the other hand, the Saudi-backed government controls the country's oil and gas fields in the southern provinces of Marib and Hadhramaut further east, while the STC, supported by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), holds the southern economic capital of Yemen, Aden.

Vital institutions are also located in the capital, held by the Houthis, including international organizations like the UN country headquarters and telecommunications and internet companies.

Sanaa also hosted Omani-mediated talks over the weekend between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, following a thaw in relations between Riyadh and Tehran last month.

Yemen's Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani on Monday hailed the atmosphere in the country as "more favorable than any time before to restore peace in Yemen."

Complete governmental control

The internationally recognized government has full control of several provinces. Most notably the largest province in terms of area, Hadhramaut.

Hadhramaut contains several important archaeological, coastal, and tourist cities, such as Mukalla, Seiyun, Shibam, Tarim, and Al-Shihr. It is also rich in oil and is a center of commercial activity.

The government also controls the easternmost province Al Mahrah, which is also the second-largest in terms of area, on the border with Oman.

Saudi forces are also deployed in Al Mahrah. The Al Ghaydah International Airport and the ports of Nishtun and Ash Shihr are also located in the province.

Partial governmental control

Control in central Marib, where the majority of Yemen's oil- and gas-rich areas are found, is contested mostly between the government and the Houthis.

Government reports indicate that the provincial capital, also called Marib, hosts more than 2 million out of 4.5 million displaced people in the country.

Since the beginning of February 2021, the Houthis have intensified their attacks on the city, which hosts the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense.

The government also controls most of Lahij, while Houthis also hold parts of the southwestern province.

The situation is similar in the neighboring provinces of Dhale and Taiz, where pro-government forces control most districts.

Complete Houthi control

Houthi rebels hold several regions in northern Yemen, most notably the capital Sanaa, which was captured by the group in September 2014, two months after taking over neighboring Amran.

Sanaa is the most important city in Yemen, as it is home to the most crucial state institutions, the telecommunications sector, and many companies and factories that bring generate revenue for the Houthis.

The rebels also control the entirety of the Dhamar, Al Bayda, Ibb, Raymah, Al Mahwit, and Amran provinces.

Partial Houthi control

Several provinces are mostly controlled by the Houthis, including the strategic coastal Al-Hudaydah in the west, home to one of Yemen's most important ports, through which about 70% of the country's imports and foreign aid pass.

Government forces control some of the province's districts, such as Al Khawkhah and Hays.

Complete STC control

Established in 2017, the UAE-backed STC holds all of Aden province, the temporary capital of the internationally recognized government.

Aden has been controlled by the STC, which wants southern Yemen to secede from the north, since August 2019 following confrontations with government forces.

The province is the second-most important in Yemen after Sanaa, as it was considered the economic capital of the country before the war broke out in 2014.

Since June 2020, the STC has also controlled the strategic island province of Socotra, overlooking the Indian Ocean southeast of mainland Yemen. It is also the largest Arab island in the world.

The STC controls Shabwah province, which contains the Balhaf natural gas liquefaction plant, critical to Yemen's economy and its LNG exports.

Partial STC control

The STC shares control of the Abyan, Dhale, and Lahij Governorates with the government.

*Ikram Kouachi contributed to this report.

Cosmonautics in Russia: the last chance for survival

12 апреля 2023,
https://en.newizv.ru/

Cosmonautics Day: is there any hope for the Russian space industry to stay afloat
On the eve of Cosmonautics Day, Roscosmos revived. The corporation began to actively announce new developments, report on all kinds of projects, increasing activity in the information field. But what are the chances that everything stated is being realized, taking into account the fact that the domestic cosmonautics was isolated from the world?
СюжетThe government and the people


There has been no significant news from Roscosmos for a long time. Sometimes it seemed that all his activities were curtailed before the launch of a few satellites commissioned by the state and the Ministry of Defense. But at the beginning of 2023, the organization under the management of Yuri Borisov began to catch up: news from the field of rocket science, space exploration, scientific programs, interplanetary flights poured out of the cornucopia.

Shock five-year plan of space exploration


To begin with, the first specifics appeared on the future Russian Orbital Service Station (ROSS): it will begin to be deployed in 2027, up to 350 billion rubles will be required for the initial stage, and up to 600 billion rubles will be required for the entire project, taking into account the construction of infrastructure.

And in order not to be left without manned cosmonautics until the creation of ROSS, Roscosmos proposes to extend the work of the ISS until 2028.

If the plans of Roscosmos come true, then we will not remain without missiles. At the Vostochny cosmodrome, work on the creation of a launch complex for the long-awaited Angara-A5 rockets should be completed by the end of 2023.

Work on the creation of infrastructure for the Angara began in 2018, was temporarily stopped in 2021 due to violations detected, and finally by the end of the year the site should be ready to launch missiles. At the same time, it was stated that the first flight model of the Soyuz-5 rocket (localized in Russia and modified Zenit) should be ready by the end of 2023, and the first flight will take place in 2024. Also, after some lull, it was announced that work on a completely new reusable rocket with methane engines "Amur" was continued. And the GRC named after. Makeeva, which is part of Roscosmos, presented a near-fantastic project of a reusable single-stage (this has not yet happened in the history of cosmonautics!) Korona missiles. Up to this point, it was believed that it was too expensive to drag excess mass into orbit – they always made drop stages. In Russia, we have to put up with the fact that the first and second stages are disposable – they either crash into the ground or burn up in the atmosphere. And foreign private companies were forced to learn how to return the first steps in order to save money.




The exploration of more distant space was not abandoned in Russia either. After the launch of the Luna-25 lander was canceled in September 2022 due to a malfunction in the equipment, uncertainty persisted for a long time. But now a new launch date has been determined for the lunar vehicle: July 13, 2023. And Russian cosmonauts will be able to visit the Moon, according to the leading employee of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nathan Eismont, in 7-10 years. And this is just the beginning: the Research Center named after M.V. Keldysh recently announced that it is developing and testing an ion engine for the Zeus space nuclear tug, which can be useful for interplanetary flights.

There are a lot of plans. But how realistic is all this? After all, Roscosmos used to exist within the framework of international cooperation, earning money by delivering satellites, cargo and people into orbit. Now, international cooperation has come down to the fact that Roscosmos was able to agree with the European Space Agency on the return to Russia of equipment for the closed ExoMars-2022 project and with NASA on the continuation of cross–flights (American astronauts will continue to fly on Soyuz, and Russian cosmonauts - on Crew Dragon). Even Kazakhstan, for the debts of the "Center for the Operation of Space Infrastructure Facilities" (CENKI), arrested the launch pad at Baikonur, which could be used for the launch of Soyuz-5…

Has space not been ours for a long time?

But it is not only Russia that generates news.

In the United States, regulators gave Elon Musk's SpaceX permission to make a trial launch of Starship, a fully reusable, the world's largest two–stage rocket, the second stage of which can be used as a full-fledged spacecraft for a flight to Mars.


Since the beginning of 2023, SpaceX has already made 23 successful launches of the Falcon 9. On average, it turns out to be launched every 4 and a little days. The train on the Murmansk — Sevastopol route and that in the summer season of 2023 will run less often – 1 time in 7 days. Roscosmos, by the way, has so far made only 6 rocket launches.

And on March 21, the Hakuto-R lander from the private Japanese company ispace entered the orbit of the Moon. If the landing is successful, the Hakuto-R will become the first ever private vehicle on the surface of the moon.

Launches of private rockets after SpaceX and New Zealand's RocketLab have become commonplace at all. Recently, the first test launch of the Terran 1 rocket from Relativity Space was made. A distinctive feature of the rocket is that it is almost entirely made using 3D printing technologies. Yes, "Terran 1" has not completed its flight, but this is only the first attempt for a young company. But in early April in China, the first successful flight was made by the Tianlong-1 rocket from the private company Beijing Tianbing Technology (Space Pioneer). But not so long ago, China was catching up in the field of cosmonautics, borrowed Russian and Soviet technologies…

With modern technologies, space is getting closer, space is becoming accessible to private companies. There is no longer a need to mobilize all the resources of the country, to involve dozens of research institutes, which employ tens of thousands of specialists, in solving problems. So maybe it's better to dissolve all state corporations like Roscosmos and NASA and put the whole initiative in the hands of private owners? But the popularizer of cosmonautics, Philip Terekhov, is sure that this is not the best option – each structure has its own tasks.

- Large state agencies allow you to implement large, long and expensive projects that do not promise immediate profit. A good example is the James Webb telescope or the Russian Spectrum series of telescopes. This is unique scientific data, new knowledge about the universe, but not profit for shareholders. Also, a large space agency can grow new private companies, as NASA did with SpaceX and not only. Private traders receive orders, acquire competencies, expand and move forward the space services market. Roscosmos gives students and even schoolchildren the opportunity to launch their satellite, such projects are invaluable for educating a new generation of engineers, even if they do not link their adult careers directly with space. The confrontation between "colossal" space agencies and private space companies is largely polemical, they solve different tasks at different levels and complement each other, not compete.Vitaly Egorov, a journalist and popularizer of cosmonautics, is also sure that private cosmonautics would not exist without state participation.

- When we talk about the success of private cosmonautics, we must understand that more attention is being drawn to them, because they appeared for the first time at all. And now, despite the fact that state space agencies are not just continuing their activities, but some are even increasing, for example, American or Chinese, not much attention is paid to them, because this is a more familiar type of activity, it lasts for decades, it started back in the 60s, and it just became routine. But the scale of the activities of space agencies still surpasses all the achievements of private cosmonautics. The same SpaceX conducts most of the programs in the public interest. And when we look at the success of private companies in different countries, it is almost directly proportional to how much the state contributes to the success of these private companies.So, it is no longer possible to imagine modern space without state corporations or private companies.

In theory, both directions exist in Russia. But, as we can see, today the pace of development of the space industry abroad is more intensive and productive. Why is this happening? Why we can't wait for the appearance of "Russian Ilon Masks" and whether there is even a chance for the development of private cosmonautics in Russia - read in the second part of the special project "NI" dedicated to Cosmonautics Day.