Business news

MINSK, 28 August (BelTA) – The schematic design of the Belarusian-Russian satellite for the remote sensing of Earth will be ready this year, BelTA learned from Sergei Zolotoi, Director of the enterprise Geoinformation Systems of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, chief designer of the Belarusian space system for the remote sensing of Earth, at a press conference on 28 August.

Sergei Zolotoi said: “The Belarusian-Russian satellite is being designed now. Calculations are being made. Decisions on key technical systems and their interaction are being made. Apart from that, various options for commercializing the project are being discussed. We intend to finish the schematic design by December. It will have to go through a multiple-stage expert evaluation process after that.”

The satellite is supposed to boast resolution of less than one meter in addition to taking stereo shots in order to make 3D-style landscape images, which are popular these days. “In comparison with the existing satellite the new one will be more agile. In addition to taking shots of large areas it will be able to zoom in on specific objects,” noted the chief designer of the Belarusian space system for the remote sensing of Earth.

Piotr Vityaz, Chief of Staff of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, added that the communications satellite Belintersat 1 and the student nanosatellite of the Belarusian State University had been created in addition to the Belarusian satellite BKA. Belarus is part of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). The 31^st planetary congress of the Association of Space Explorers is scheduled to take place in Minsk in September.