According to Mikhail Myasnikovich, Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, a state commission has been established to monitor progress. He notes that it has already begun its work and stresses the importance of Belarus’ possessing a fully-fledged terrestrial facility controlling satellites. “We’re almost autonomous and independent, working successfully in information transfer and reception,” he asserts. He adds that special attention should now be given to preparing Belarusian enterprises to make full use of the data. The forestry industry should find it particularly useful, while emergency situations and the weather will be able to be monitored and forecast more accurately. In addition, satellite data will be used to create cartographic materials. “It’s not enough just to receive signals; we must be able to process them and apply the data,” he underlines.
The Belarusian satellite will go into orbit with a Russian cluster launch next year. The new space apparatus will be lighter and more manoeuvrable than the previous one, weighing around 400kg. The satellite will ensure space surveillance of the whole Belarusian territory.
