MOSCOW: Roscosmos space agency on Sunday said that a Soyuz rocket blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan carrying Russia’s first satellite for monitoring the Arctic’s climate.
“The first Russian apparatus #ArktikaM for monitoring climate and environment in the Arctic region was launched by the Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle from the # Baikonur cosmodrome. Upper stage “Fregat” continued launching the vehicle into a given orbit,” Roscosmos space agency tweeted.
Video published by the Russian space agency showed the Soyuz blaster launching against grey skies at 0655 GMT, carrying an Arktika-M satellite.
Первый российский аппарат #АрктикаМ для мониторинга климата и окружающей среды в арктическом регионе запущен ракетой-носителем «Союз-2.1б» с космодрома #Байконур.
Разгонный блок «Фрегат» продолжил выведение аппарата на заданную орбиту ???? pic.twitter.com/8xMI3IH56y
— РОСКОСМОС (@roscosmos) February 28, 2021
Space agency chief Dmitry Rogozin wrote on Twitter later that communication with the satellite had been established. The monitoring system will need at least two satellites to operate properly, the space agency said.
“As part of the system, they will provide round-the-clock all-weather monitoring of the Earth’s surface and the seas of the Arctic Ocean,” he added.
Пуск штатно. Отделение головного блока и первое включение-выключение двигательной установки разгонного блока прошли в расчетное время.
— ROGOZIN (@Rogozin) February 28, 2021
The launch of the second Arktika-M satellite is planned for 2023, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.
Economic exploitation of the Arctic is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s key goals. The Arctic holds huge oil and gas reserves that are being eyed by Russia and other countries including the United States, Canada and Norway.
UK scientists last month reported ice was disappearing across the world at a rate that matched “worst-case climate warming scenarios”.
The team from the universities of Edinburgh and Leeds and University College London found that some of the largest losses in the last three decades were from Arctic Sea ice.
ЕСТЬ КОНТАКТ ПОДЪЕМА ????
С космодрома Байконур только что стартовала ракета-носитель «Союз-2.1б» с разгонным блоком «Фрегат» и новым космическим аппаратом для оценки климата Арктики — #АрктикаМ.
Смотрите полёт ракеты вместе с нами ➡️ https://t.co/SsM7CKVJBa pic.twitter.com/AVjENB3oEA
— РОСКОСМОС (@roscosmos) February 28, 2021
