The raging war between Kyiv and Russia has never been easy for companies to continue their operations when they are caught in between the two forces.
This was the case for Ukrainian startup Promin Aerospace, which manufactures self-burning rockets. But despite the ongoing tensions, the company is still on track first launch test of its small satellite technology next year, as reported first by Space News.
(Photo : ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
SpaceX flies in the distance over Los Angeles after it made its fourth attempt at launching a Falcon 9 satellite-carrying rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California at 6:17 a.m.ET on February 22, 2018 The Falcon 9 launch is carrying a Paz radar-imaging satellite and two smaller prototype satellites SpaceX CEO Elon Musk hopes will one day lead to worldwide broadband internet service.
How Promin Aerospace Copes Up
The space company's research and development facility lies somewhere in Dnipro, a central Ukrainian city that has been battered by Russian missiles. However, it is worth noting that Promin does not disclose the exact whereabouts of its lab to ensure the safety of its employees.
The recent barrage of Russian missile attacks has caused widespread outages throughout Ukraine. It has damaged the electrical grids of some Ukrainian cities and compromised their supply chain for food and water.
Such a scenario is inevitable for Promin but to continue their operations in times of power outages, they maintain two separate electric circuits.
According to Space News, Dnipro is renowned for its expertise in the field of aerospace since Ukraine's state-run aerospace business Yuzhmash and space technology design agency Yuzhnoe are located there.
But even though the company manages to continue its daily operations, wartime is not exactly ideal for further expanding the business. Hence, Promin was forced to set aside its expansion projects.
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Investment Plans
The initial round of emails asking for seed funding was sent by Misha Rudominski, CEO and co-founder of Promin, on February 22, two days before Russia invaded Ukraine.
When the war broke out, Promin had to put their investment plans on the shelves to prioritize the safety of their staff and their loved ones while also supporting Ukraine in its humanitarian efforts.
The majority of employees started working full-time again in early April.
The space company was supposed to expand its workforce this year but it is somehow getting back on track after increasing its engineering thanks to funding supplied by Google last August.
Promin intends to launch a small rocket for the first time next year. The business will try to launch the rocket in Ukraine to a height of about 100 meters.
But if Promin is denied permission to execute the launch in Ukraine, it will likely conduct the test in Scotland since a memorandum of understanding allows Promin to launch from a spaceport in the UK constituent country.
Rudominski told Space News that they plan to conduct their launch tests from the Scottish spaceport by the end of the summer of 2023.
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