The design of a new Belarus-Russia Earth remote sensing satellite was approved

The design of a new Belarus-Russia Earth remote sensing satellite was approved during the visit of a Roskosmos delegation to Minsk last week, Chairman of the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences Vladimir Gusakov said.

According to Vladimir Gusakov, this is about an absolutely new ultra-high resolution satellite. “It will be fitted with cutting-edge surveying instruments and an imaging system. We expect the parameters of the new satellite to be about 3 to 4 times better than those of the currently operational satellite BKA-1,” he noted.

In his words, the launch date has not been discussed yet because the first satellite has been successfully completing its tasks. Moreover, this is a matter of economic feasibility. “We intend to launch the new satellite in 2020. This is not an accurate date, however, since our satellite BKA-1 is being operated and its technical characteristics have not become worse. We do not rush to launch the new satellite because the existing one is still operational, and this helps us save money,” Vladimir Gusakov clarified.