On April 9, 2026, Roscongress hosted the first Space Forum, held as part of Space Week and timed to mark the 65th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight. Attending on behalf of L5 were Alexandra Melnik, Andrey Zuev, Elizaveta Mikhailova, and Dmitry Kushpet.
The session on private space stood out to me the most. Speakers underscored the importance of private investment in the sector. Pyotr Fradkov noted that the future of space investment in Russia belongs to private investors who can grow capital through the space industry by making long-term commitments.
Vasily Shpak drew attention to the growing Earth observation data market. Now is exactly the right moment for companies offering useful services to become industry leaders.
We're actively working on two promising services based on radar sensing:
- zone monitoring using radar interferometry, within a system where flyovers are carried out by drones operated by partner organizations;
- monitoring for the mining industry — a field with enormous growth potential.
I really hope that next year we'll be presenting our own work as speakers on the main stage of the forum.
The first Space Forum left a lasting impression. The ambitious agenda covered every aspect of the space industry — from technological development to private space and the orbital economy. Discussions touched on scientific research, talent development, and international cooperation.
The panel discussion on private space was especially impressive. They talked about investment and growth models, and about bringing venture capital into long-term projects. Interestingly, there aren't that many players in Russia's private space sector, but everyone knows all of them.
The directions we're developing in Earth observation and space service engineering turned out to be highly relevant. That gives us a real chance to carve out our niche. I'm confident our contribution to the space industry will be a meaningful one.
Our team at L5 shares Dmitry Bakanov's view on creating the right conditions for private players in the space sector to grow. We're focused on developing low-orbit communications and imaging services from space — both radar and optical.
We're confident that, working together, we can reach new heights and strengthen our country's space sovereignty.
