Skolkovo partner Dauria Aerospace has been named by SpaceNews magazine as one of the world’s top seven commercial operators in 2014.
Dauria Aerospace sent Russia into the new space economy of private commercial operations earlier this year with the launch of two communications satellites.
“Entering an elite club of geostationary telecommunications systems producers is a difficult but ambitious task, especially for a young Russian company,” said CEO Mikhail Kokorich in Facebook comments. The company’s R&D spinoff, Dauria Satellite Systems, is a Skolkovo resident.
SpaceNews reported that 26 contracts open to competitive bidding were signed over the course of last year to put geostationary satellites into orbit, up from 23 in 2013.
Silicon Valley-based Space Systems/Loral (SSL) led the pack with 10 orders, with five apiece for Airbus Defence and Space and French-Italian outfit Thales Alenia Space, the magazine said.
Boeing and Orbital Sciences received three contracts each, while Dauria and Mitsubishi both had two.
“Being in the company of Boeing, Airbus, SS/L and Thales is truly invaluable,” Kokorich added.
In July, Aniara, an Indian telecommunications company, ordered two geostationary satellites from Dauria on the sidelines of the Farnborough International Airshow in Britain.
At the Skolkovo Foundation board meeting in India in September, the two companies signed an extension to the deal that will see ten Russian-produced satellites enter markets in Asia and the Middle East over the next five years.