Photo: Duma.gov.ru / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
Russian President Vladimir Putin called Elon Musk a “genius” on Wednesday and said Russia was working with American partners, including Musk, to coordinate activity in orbit despite political disagreements.
Putin made the remarks while touring an exhibition of Russian technology with African delegation leaders in Moscow on October 28. A video published by the Kremlin shows him discussing Russia’s early efforts to build a low-orbit satellite network alongside a display of a spacecraft.
“Elon Musk is a genius, a real genius,” Putin said, in remarks translated from Russian.
He contrasted Russia’s program, which he described as taking its first steps, with the much larger constellation associated with Musk. A Russian official presenting the exhibit said more than 30 Russian satellites were already in orbit. That figure was presented during the tour, not independently verified.
Putin describes contact over orbital coordination
“We are in close contact with our American partners, including Mr. Musk,” Putin said, explaining that operators needed to avoid interfering with one another in orbit and maintain order.
Putin said Russia and its American counterparts valued that coordination and continued to work closely despite political issues. He named Russia’s space agency Roscosmos and other companies as participants in the work. The description of the contacts was Putin’s account; the Kremlin clip did not include a statement from Musk or an American counterpart.
The Kremlin’s event summary identifies the exhibition as “A Platform for Sovereign Development: Advanced Russian Solutions in Key Economic and Social Sectors.” Putin toured it with heads of African delegations, with explanations from Russian officials responsible for the sectors on display.
Putin said Russia was proud to have begun building the satellite system independently. He described its first step as complete and said the task now was to move from quality to greater quantity.
JBizNews Desk | Moscow
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