Kanopus-B ERS Satellites Deployed to Operational Orbit

Soyuz launch from Vostochny Cosmodrome on Dec. 27, 2018. (Credit: Roscosmos)

MOSCOW (Roscosmos PR) — Today, on 27 December 2018, at 5:07 am Moscow time, Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with Fregat booster and Earth remote sensing (ERS) satellite vehicles №5 and №6 of the Kanopus-B series was successfully launched from the launch pad of the Vostochny Cosmodrome.

In accordance with the launch sequence, following two impulses of the service propulsion system of Fregat booster, satellite vehicle Kanopus-B №5 and satellite vehicle Kanopus-B №6 were routinely detached from the booster at 6:06 am and 6:12 am Moscow time respectively.

Fregat booster also deployed another 26 space vehicles into orbit. Space vehicles GRUS, iSAT, UWE-4, Sparrow and 8KA of Lemur type that are deployed as hosted payload under the contracts of Glavcosmos Launch Services and Glavcosmos, were routinely detached from Fregat booster between 7:33 am and 7:50 am Moscow time at the orbital height of about 585 km.

Space vehicles Lume-1, ZACube-2 and 12 Dove satellites were also routinely detached from Fregat booster between 9:13 am and 9:43 am Moscow time at the orbital height of about 495 km.

Kanopus-B satellite vehicles that have been developed and crafted by VNIEM (All-Russian Scientific Research Institute Of Electromechanics) Corporation, are designed for monitoring of anthropogenic and natural emergencies, including hydrometeorological phenomena, large-scale emissions of pollutants, monitoring of agricultural activities, natural resources and land management.