The Khrunichev Space Center, Russia's leading space research center, will bid in a tender to build and launch a satellite capable of sending back images with a resolution of less than one meter, the center's head said Wednesday, RIA Novosti has reported.
"The Federal Space Agency is planning to announce a tender to build this satellite," Alexander Medvedev said. "Several firms will join the tender. We will be able to build this satellite quicker than our rivals because we have successfully launched an experimental Monitor-E satellite that sends high-resolution images from 20 to 8 meters to the Earth."
In response to a question about why the satellite had no equipment to send 1-meter resolution images, Medvedev said it had a different mission.
"It is important to understand why you order a satellite that can send images with a resolution of less than one meter," Medvedev said. "You can understand that a narrow circle of ministries requires this resolution, whereas forest fires or illicit tree feeling over vast areas require a larger resolution."
The center head said that a Rokot launch vehicle, the same class used to take the Monitor-E satellite into space, would put the satellite with 1-meter resolution image equipment into orbit.
"Even though the Rokot launch vehicle was produced in 1977, it put the Monitor-E satellite into orbit perfectly," Medvedev said. He explained that the rocket had been drained of fuel, kept dry and later refueled for the lift-off.
"The launch confirmed that these rockets were reliable, which is very important for the country's security," Medvedev said.
