Russia’s First Arctic Satellite ‘Arktika-M’
Russia has successfully launched its first Arctic region monitoring satellite called ‘Arktika-M-Satellite’. The satellite was launched on February 28, 2021 from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, announced the country’s space agency Roscosmos in a statement, reports AFP.
According to the statement, the satellite was carried off the ground by a Soyuz rocket at 0655 GMT on the day.
Functions of Arktika-M-Satellite :
The launch of the satellite is mainly monitoring the climate and environment in the Arctic region as Roscosmos in the statement said, ‘the ‘Arktika’ hydrometeorological and climate monitoring space system is designed to monitor the climate and environment in the Arctic region.’
Russian Space agency chief Dmitry Rogozin in a Twitter post called the launch of the satellite as a routine work.
As per the Roscosmos statement, the Arctic monitoring system will need at least two satellites to operate properly. The second Arktika-M-Satellite is scheduled to launch in 2023, reports Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
According to the report, economic development of the Arctic is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s key goals.
The Arctic region has huge oil and gas reserves that are being eyed by Russia and other countries including the United States, Canada and Norway.