By BlueShift | 2025-09-19

As some African countries show increased interest in entering the space sector or establishing stronger space programs, their ambitions have drawn interest from established space powers -- notably Russia.

Russia is actively pursuing partnerships and alliances with African nations as it seeks to offset the geopolitical isolation it is facing as a result of its war with Ukraine and reassert its own status in the space race.

In September 2024, Russia signed satellite deals with Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, which are ruled by military juntas. In November 2024, Roscosmos announced a proposal to build spaceports in "friendly" African nations.

Other Russian overtures include a 2023 space exploration deal with Algeria.

But while the Kremlin's sales pitch may be compelling, its track record in Africa is marred by self interest and failures, analysts say.

Proposals from Roscosmos to create a number of spaceports in African nations suggest a complex mix of motives that primarily appear to serve the Kremlin's own strategic interests, as it grapples with international sanctions.

Spaceports in countries such as Algeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe would provide Roscosmos new customers for its launch services and geographically desirable launch sites, lessening its reliance on traditional space partners.

Some African countries the Kremlin intends to partner with are close to the equator, an advantage for space launches because they can leverage the Earth's rotational velocity to increase payload capacity and reduce fuel costs.

Satellite failures

The stark failure rate of Russian-made satellites launched for African nations meanwhile raises concerns about the reliability of Russian satellite technology -- and whether the Kremlin is really sending its best technology to Africa.

For African nations striving for a foothold in space, satellite failures are costly setbacks, with three high-profile Russian projects ending in disappointment.

South Africa's Defense Ministry signed a contract with Roscosmos subsidiary NPO Mashinostroyeniya in 2006 for the Kondor-E military radar satellite.

Hailed as an "all-weather, day-and-night eye in the sky" by then-President Thabo Mbeki, the project, with a reported cost of $259 million, soon ran into problems.

When South Africa learned that Russia intended to maintain control over the satellite's data, it threatened to cancel the contract.

The countries eventually reached a settlement, and the satellite was launched in 2015. But the device suffered data transfer issues within months, and by April 2016, users had lost all communications with the satellite.

Russian-built Angosat-1, designed to be Angola's first national communication spacecraft, launched December 26, 2017, at a cost of $330 million.

The satellite never became operational. Persistent power supply issues left it uncontrollable, and on April 23, 2018 -- less than four months after the launch -- Angola declared Angosat-1 a total loss.

In 2014, Egypt purchased a $40 million optical observation satellite from Russia's RSC Energia. Launched April 16 of that year, the Egyptsat-2 satellite soon experienced technical failures.

The users lost total control of the satellite a year later.

Space sector setbacks

These failures come as deeper issues plague Russia's space sector.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sacked long-term Roscosmos director Yuri Borisov on February 6, 2024, citing the need to "develop" the corporation after years of humiliating setbacks.

Corruption has plagued Roscosmos, with its deputy director and two suspected accomplices charged in December 2023 with embezzling $4.5 million.

The space agency had cumulative net losses from 2015 to 2023 that exceeded $1.6 billion, according to the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

"The Russian military space program entered the 2020s in a near-crisis mode," according to a February 2024 report published by CNA, a nonprofit research and analysis organization dedicated to US safety and security.

This was caused primarily "by its inability to lessen its dependence on foreign supplies or to stem the 'brain drain' of workers in this industry leaving the country for opportunities elsewhere," the report said.

"Moscow tried to expand already established civilian and military space cooperation with new partners such as Egypt and South Africa, which both had previously ordered Russian dual-use spacecraft with very mixed results," it said.

"Severe delays with practically every major spacecraft project and continuous legal disputes between the military and the industry indicate that fundamental issues have never gone away," it added.

"If the history of the USSR is any guide, the prospects for the Russian space program, including its military component, are bleak."