Russia’s Fregat Booster Delivers 53 Small Satellites to Target Orbit – Science & Space

VOSTOCHNY COSMODROM /Amur Region/, November 5. /TASS/. A Fregat booster has successfully delivered 53 small Russian- and foreign-made satellites launched on a Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle as payloads hosted from the Vostochny spaceport to designated orbits, Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos said on Tuesday.

“The hosted payload consisting of 49 Russian satellites, one Russian-Chinese satellite, one Russian-Zimbabwe satellite and two Iranian small satellites was delivered to designated orbits and separated from the Fregat booster which was launched by a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from at the Vostochny Spaceport today,” Roscosmos said in a statement.

Considering the heliogeophysical satellites Ionosphere-M no. 1 and Ionosphere-M no. 2 into orbit, Russia has launched a record 51 domestic satellites into orbit, the statement said.

The Soyuz-2.1ba launch vehicle blasted off from Site 1S of the Vostochny spaceport in Russia’s Far East at 2:18 a.m. on Nov. 5, delivering the Fregat booster with two Ionosphere-M satellites as its main payload and 53 small satellites as hosted payload. on transfer orbit.

Russian private space company Sputnix (part of Sironics Group) confirmed to TASS that its 28 satellites, including 24 SITRO-AIS ship tracking and 4 Space-Pi scientific and educational project satellites, were successfully delivered on orbit.

“Now, our specialists are recording telemetry signals and calibrating systems at the Sputnix Flight Control Center in Moscow. All systems are set to be placed under control, which will indicate the success of the mission. The final results will be obtained in the next 24 hours” , the head of the company, Vladislav Ivanenko, said.