The engines of the "Aist" have been tested: a satellite is currently undergoing trials in Samara for its launch from the "Vostochny" spaceport.

The appearance of the new satellite. Photo: State Corporation "Roscosmos"

Scientists at the Samara Rocket and Space Center "Progress" successfully conducted fire tests of the engine for the small spacecraft "Aist-2T". In the spring of 2025, a pair of these satellites is scheduled to be launched into space from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur Region, as reported by "Komsomolskaya Pravda – Blagoveshchensk," citing the state corporation "Roscosmos."

The engines are designed to adjust the satellite's position during its operation in Earth's orbit.

Testing of the spacecraft engine. Photo: State Corporation "Roscosmos"

"Progress specialists recreated conditions of space flight that are as close as possible to operational conditions in orbit. During the firing, the engine demonstrated full functionality and passed all checks without any remarks," noted Roscosmos.

This is the first experience for RSC "Progress" in conducting such tests. New equipment was developed and existing equipment was modernized at the Samara space center, and a methodology for data analysis was created.

The pair of small spacecraft "Aist-2T" has been under development by RSC "Progress" since 2019. They are intended for stereoscopic imaging of the Earth's surface, with the data to be used for digital terrain models and monitoring emergencies.

In a single day, the complex will be able to capture two million square kilometers of the Earth's surface in overview mode and 800 thousand square kilometers in stereoscopic imaging. The satellites will have a swath width of 32 kilometers and a resolution of 1.2 meters per pixel in panchromatic imaging mode.

Components of the "Soyuz-2.1b" rocket have arrived at the Vostochny cosmodrome

Earlier, "KP" reported that the launch of two spacecraft "Aist-2T," as well as "Aist-CT," "Marathon-D" No. 2, and "Lobachevsky" from the Vostochny Cosmodrome is preliminarily planned for March 2025. Previously, in 2016, the demonstration prototype of the series – "Aist-2D" was launched from Vostochny, and the results of its tests allowed Samara specialists to develop the space complex in a short period of time.

In November, the components of the "Soyuz-2.1b" launch vehicle for this launch have already arrived at the Amur cosmodrome. By the way, it was also created by specialists from RSC "Progress."

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