According to the agency’s information published Wednesday on its Telegram channel, the Soyuz-2.1b spacecraft carried the fifth Resurs-P Earth observation satellite into space.
Soyuz-2.1b with the remote sensing satellite lifted off from pad 31 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Kazakh steppe at 10:45 (Moscow time).
This is the second Resurs-P device Russia has sent into space so far in 2024; the previous one was launched from the same cosmodrome last March 31.
These satellites equipped with hyperspectral sensors, are capable of capturing images with a resolution of 70 centimeters, which facilitates the control of environmental degradation, prospecting of mineral resources, evaluation of ice sheets, monitoring of emergencies, and updating of maps.
Wednesday’s launch is the 2,000th for Russian space rockets that are successors to the legendary R-7 Semiorka.
The R-7, which the Soviet Union debuted in 1957, was the first intercontinental ballistic missile, and its modifications, including the Voskhod, Vostok, and Soyuz ranges, made it possible to put the first artificial satellite into orbit and send the first cosmonaut into space.
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