Russiaâs constellation of civilian satellites now has 99 spacecraft
They are used for social, economic and scientific purposes, as well for research and navigation, the space official said
MOSCOW, December 30. /TASS/. The number of Russian satellites that are used for social, economic and scientific purposes, as well for research and navigation, was increased to 99 in 2020, Russia’s state-run space corporation Roscosmos said in a statement on Wednesday.
Read also The Russian orbital constellation used for social, economic, scientific and navigational purposes now comprises 99 spacecraft, the statement says.
Overall, Roscosmos carried out 17 space launches from Baikonur (Kazakhstan), Plesetsk (northwestern Russia), Vostochny (Russia’s Far East) and Kourou (French Guiana) in 2020. About 120 satellites were taken to various orbits, including 104 OneWeb satellites, two navigational satellites - Glonass-M and Glonass-K, two Express and six Gonets telecoms satellites. Russ
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A Soyuz-2.1b rocket takes off Friday from the Vostochny Cosmodrome with 36 OneWeb internet satellites. Credit: Roscosmos
The next 36 satellites for OneWeb’s broadband internet network fired into orbit from Russia’s Far East Friday on a Soyuz rocket, giving OneWeb 110 of a planned fleet of 650 spacecraft after the company emerged from bankruptcy earlier this year.
Kerosene-fueled engines propelled the Soyuz-2.1b launcher and its Fregat upper stage off a launch pad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia at 7:26:26 a.m. EST (1226:26 GMT).