During the full-scale war, Ukrainian intelligence successfully launched carrier rockets into space twice. These were not experiments, but the execution of real combat missions.
This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing an interview with lawmaker Fedir Venislavskyi. According to him, HUR units launched carrier rockets into outer space twice — to altitudes of over 100 km and 204 km, both officially recorded by technical means.
Venislavskyi said this is a unique situation for a country at war, and such capabilities allow Ukraine to counter enemy attack systems and strike them in space.
According to the lawmaker, the operations were conducted under the leadership of then head of HUR Kyrylo Budanov and were part of real combat tasks.
He also stated that Ukraine possesses missiles capable of striking targets at distances of up to 500 km and traveling at hypersonic speeds, which are already being used.
In addition, a HUR working group carried out another operation — launching a carrier rocket from a transport aircraft at an altitude of about 8 km. Venislavskyi said this was the first time on the European continent and only the second in world history after the United States in the 1970s.
He added that such a system could become the basis for a “spaceport in the air,” as air launches save energy and increase strike efficiency.
The system is planned to be used both for peaceful purposes and for countering Russian “Oreshnik” missiles.