New Russian cosmodrome to launch Belarusian educational satellite

The Vostochny cosmodrome may be used to launch an educational satellite of the Belarusian State University, BelTA learned from Yuri Makarov, Head of the Strategic Planning Office of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, on 12 February.

According to the source, the Belarusian State University is busy working on the project to launch an educational satellite. The Vostochny cosmodrome may be used to put the satellite into orbit.

The Vostochny cosmodrome was commissioned in 2015. “We will be ready to implement not only national programs but also programs of Belarus as a full-fledged space power with its own orbital constellation and ground-based facilities required to support the full range of space exploration operations,” explained Yuri Makarov.

Alexander Tuzikov, Director General of the United Informatics Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, stressed that such educational satellites can be developed by students to be used later as part of the education process and scientific studies.

A session of the Belarusian-Russian workgroup tasked with preparing proposals regarding the list and content of promising programs of the Union State of Belarus and Russia and the promotion of cooperation between agencies and enterprises of Roscosmos and the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus is scheduled to take place at premises of the Academy on 12-13 February. The session is timed to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the United Informatics Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. The institute is the agency in charge of supervising the government’s R&D program on information technologies, the Industry Ministry’s R&D program on computer technologies for designing and making new products, and Union State programs SKIF and Kosmos SG.