MINSK, 27 July (BelTA) – Over the course of five years the Belarusian satellite BKA has taken pictures of over 120 million km2 of Earth's surface, BelTA learned from Sergei Zolotoi, Director of the R&D enterprise Geoinformation Systems of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB), chief designer of the Belarusian system for the remote sensing of Earth, on 27 July.
The BKA satellite has been working as part of the Belarusian-Russian orbital group of satellites for the remote sensing of Earth for five years already together with the Russian satellite Canopus-B. In this period the BKA satellite worked without any malfunctions. The ground infrastructure for controlling the satellite and receiving space data worked effectively, too. In the period of five years the Belarusian satellite took pictures of over 120 million km2. Belarus' territory was covered many times over, said Sergei Zolotoi.
More than ten Belarusian ministries use the data the BKA satellite beams down to the surface. Government agencies can use the data for free in accordance with the effective legislation, said Sergei Zolotoi.
Mikhail Khailov, Deputy Director General of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, noted that both satellites in the orbital group continue working well beyond their warranty period. “With the satellites in orbit, Russia and Belarus are no longer dependent on imported optics and electronics. The two countries had to seek foreign sources of data in the past,” explained Mikhail Khailov. He also said he hopes that the satellites will keep feeding data for many years to come.
Work is now in progress to create a Belarusian-Russian satellite for the high-resolution remote sensing of Earth. The new satellite will boast improved technical parameters in comparison with the existing Belarusian satellite BKA. “Capabilities of orbital surveys will be greatly improved. We highly appreciate cooperation with Belarusian colleagues,” summed up Mikhail Khailov.
