Max Polyakov: The 1st Ukrainian-American Rocket Launch Will Happen in April 2020
This launching is expected to happen in April 2020 at the cosmodrome of America Air Force Vanderberg base. It will lead to the development of private space in Ukraine and this is the most promising field in Ukraine economy.
Why Max Polyakov chose space
By 2012, Max Polyakov had several successful projects. He went to America but he never forgot about Ukraine. Currently, he is planning a union between USA and Ukraine projects which will be more profiting. His 1st project is EOS Data Analytics. The organization is going through the pictures of the earth surface gotten by satellites. Max Polyakov’s project has attracted over one hundred and fifty experts in fields like geodata analysis, mathematics, and programming. These experts will come up with a creative EOS platform product that comprises of four cloud services. These services will allow analyzing and processing of information gotten from satellites in a humanly accessible form.
The biggest prospects which Max saw in Remote Earth Sensing development market are starting to bring dividends. The demand for the solutions of EOS keeps going up all over the world. They are used by both public and private organizations.
And since the EOS platform data is gotten from orbiting satellites, Max Polyakov is looking forward to begin designing his own satellites. The satellites will have ultra-modern optics so that people cannot purchase expensive information on the side.
How Firefly rockets were created
When Max decided to create his own rockets in Ukraine, he encountered many challenges. For example, Ukraine legislation banned private space. So, he decided to create them in America. But in America, it was not simple either. He was required to have a state license and getting one takes time. So, it was better to get a company which was already licensed.
In 2017 is when Max Polyakov found a licensed company named Firefly Space Systems. By then that company has two prototype launch vehicles but did not have enough money to complete its development. This was because its main investor had stopped financing it.
Max Polyakov fixed the financial issue that Firefly Systems was facing and it was able to go on developing missiles. However, the company was now being supported by Ukraine. At the beginning of 2018, the Firefly research center was started in the Dnieper. This is where satellites and rockets were developed. This move hugely accelerated the designing of missiles and it enhanced their features.
Currently, Firefly Aerospace is now the former Firefly Space Systems. It is also among the best twenty global private missile organizations.
Will Firefly compete in the global market?
Max Polyakov was asked whether Firefly is capable of competing with its rivals and he said that most rivals design super light rockets. The rockets from competitors are eight meters long while those of Firefly are thirty meters long. This is profiting because it makes the cost of sending one kilogram of cargo into orbit affordable. For instance, the rocket designed by RocketLab Company carries 250 Kgs only to low near-earth orbit and 159 Kgs to solar-synchronous. Shipping one kilogram of cargo costs around thirty thousand dollars.
The small Alpha rocket by Firefly has a payload of 630 kilograms per MTR and one ton per NOU. It costs eight thousand dollars to deliver one kilogram of cargo. This is four times cheaper. Max Polyakov hopes that after five years, his organization will carry out many orders for launching light satellites that weigh up to one ton.
Max Polyakov and his company believe in their abilities. So, the 1st Alpha flight in December is going to be commercial and not a test. Satellites will be flown to a company in the US called Airbus. This company intends to launch its light 210 Kgs satellites into orbit with only sixteen missiles by Firefly. Besides that, Firefly is completing the designing of 3 satellites which will go to space in 2020.
The rockets by Firefly will get launched from America space center. The American government has already granted permission. But in Ukraine, there are no less populated spaces where the initial steps can fall safely.
Max’s multiple businesses
Besides space, Max Polyakov assists the youth by financing their promising projects. Also, through his support and that of his companies, several games and scientific events are planned for young people in Ukraine. Some of them include:
Science contests.
Rockets sports contests.
Vernadsky Challenge: A competition for startups that focus on engineering.
Apart from all that, Firefly under Max Polyakov reconstructed the Dnipro Plabeterium, the Zhytomyr Museum for Cosmonauts and he even established a learning institution. The learning institution will produce the best space experts and other experts who can help in developing other technical fields.
Max Polyakov is planning to invest a lot of money in his projects and with time he will transfer technical and scientific centers to self-efficiency.
Max Polyakov: A nation of satisfied individuals - reality
Max Polyakov, an established businessperson and the writer of many patents and scientific papers is confident that he will achieve great things. He encourages people never to doubt themselves and to always set goals and work hard to achieve them regardless of how hard things get. Max also believes that if a person has a great idea, getting money for implementing it cannot be difficult. And despite the obstacles people can encounter in Ukraine, he believes that the future is bright.
