The first "Ionospheres" are now in space: the "Soyuz-2.1b" rocket launched from Vostochny. Watch the video!

Photo: Ivan Timoshenko/Russian Space Corporation "Roscosmos"

The "Soyuz-2.1b" launch vehicle has successfully lifted off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur region, carrying two "Ionosfera-M" satellites along with 53 Russian and foreign satellites as secondary payloads, as reported by "Komsomolskaya Pravda – Blagoveshchensk," citing the state corporation "Roscosmos."

The launch occurred at the scheduled time. Nine minutes and 24 seconds after liftoff, the launch vehicle successfully deployed the spacecraft payload, which included the "Fregat" upper stage and the payload into low Earth orbit. The separation of the spacecraft payload from the third stage of the launch vehicle took place.

One minute later, the engines of the "Fregat" were activated, which began deploying the satellites into their designated orbits.

As a reminder, the "Ionosfera-M" satellites are part of the new Russian space grouping "Ionozond." This constellation will consist of four "Ionosfera-M" satellites, which will be positioned in pairs on two perpendicular sun-synchronous orbits at an altitude of 820 kilometers above the Earth's surface, along with the "Zond-M" satellite. Each "Ionosfera" satellite, equipped with instruments, weighs up to five hundred kilograms.

The objective of this grouping is to monitor "space weather" in the vicinity of Earth. Observing the state of our planet's ionosphere and solar activity will enable the forecasting of magnetic storms and even earthquakes. Additionally, the satellites will be able to monitor ozone levels in the atmosphere and identify ozone holes—areas with reduced concentrations of this gas, through which higher amounts of UV radiation reach the Earth's surface.

Read also:

“Condor” and “Ionosferas” are set to launch into space from Vostochny in November

The dates for the upcoming launches from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur region have been announced (more details).

Did you witness an interesting event? Report it to our journalists: vl@phkp.ru or +7 924 000-10-03 (Telegram, WhatsApp).

Discuss the published stories in our social networks: VK, Odnoklassniki.

When using materials from this publication, a link to "KP – Blagoveshchensk" is required.