The State Corporation for Space Activities "Roscosmos",[note 1] commonly known simply as Roscosmos (Russian: Роскосмос), is a state corporation of the Russian Federation responsible for space flights, cosmonautics programs, and aerospace research.[2]
Originating from the Soviet space program founded in the 1950s, Roscosmos emerged following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It initially began as the Russian Space Agency,[note 2] which was established on 25 February 1992[3] and restructured in 1999 and 2004 as the Russian Aviation and Space Agency[note 3] and the Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos),[note 4] respectively.[3] In 2015, the Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) was merged with the United Rocket and Space Corporation, a government corporation, to re-nationalize the space industry of Russia, leading to Roscosmos in its current form.[4][5][6]
Roscosmos is headquartered in Moscow, with its main Mission Control Center in the nearby city of Korolyov, and the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center located in Star City in Moscow Oblast. Its launch facilities include Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the world's first and largest spaceport, and Vostochny Cosmodrome, which is being built in the Russian Far East in Amur Oblast. Its director since February 2025 is Dmitry Bakanov.[7]
As the main successor to the Soviet space program, Roscosmos' legacy includes the world's first satellite, the first human spaceflight, and the first space station (Salyut). Its current activities include the International Space Station, wherein it is a major partner. On 22 February 2019, Roscosmos announced the construction of its new headquarters in Moscow, the National Space Centre. Its Astronaut Corps is the first in the world's history.
