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MINSK, 11 April (BelTA) – There are plans to finish the sketch design for a new Belarusian-Russian satellite in 2019, BelTA learned from Boris Chernukha, Deputy Director for Science of the R&D enterprise Geoinformation Systems of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB), on 11 April.

Belarusian and Russian specialists have already started creating a new satellite for the extremely high resolution remote sensing of Earth. According to the source, they intend to finish its initial design in 2019. “The results will determine the final deadline for creating the satellite, the volume and the cost of the work,” said Boris Chernukha.

The new satellite will expand the Belarusian-Russian constellation of satellites for the remote sensing of Earth. It will boast improved parameters in comparison with the existing satellite and will be able to tackle more tasks. In particular, the new satellite will allow actively exploring international markets of space services.

Boris Chernukha added that the Belarusian company Peleng will make remote sensing equipment of the satellite while Russian partners will take care of creating the space platform and inserting it into orbit. The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus in association with the Russian side will modernize the ground infrastructure for controlling the new satellite and will develop the hardware and software solutions for automating the evaluation of quality of remote sensing data. The two sides will also arrange acceptance trials and commissioning of the new satellite.

Belarus has accomplished a lot in the area of space exploration using rockets. The launch of the Belarusian satellite BKA in 2012 was a prominent event. The satellite’s core equipment was made by OAO Peleng, the leading company in the area of making science-intensive optic-electronic products for a broad spectrum of applications. The launch of the satellite demonstrated to the entire world the fact that Belarus has modern technologies and advanced enterprises. The country joined the prestigious list of space powers then. In 2013 the UN General Assembly admitted Belarus into the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).