According to Roscosmos State Corporation, the calculation will soon begin to deploy the sections of the satellites' photocells. They will be illuminated with powerful lamps to test their operability. Then the satellites will undergo other tests and launch "before the end of autumn".
The spacecraft were developed by VNIIEM Corporation, they were delivered to Vostochny at the end of September. The Russian Fregat upper stage is ready to put into orbit a new complex for monitoring space weather "IonoZond", which includes the "Ionosphere-M" satellites.
The Ionosond space system was developed by VNIIEM on behalf of Roscosmos State Corporation in the interests of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Roshydromet. It will solve scientific and applied problems of obtaining fundamental knowledge about the Earth's ionosphere and will continuously monitor near-Earth space. It will include four Ionosphere-M spacecraft designed to monitor the state of the Earth's ionosphere.
They will monitor changes in the spatial-temporal structure of the ionosphere, disturbances in electromagnetic fields, the composition of the Earth's atmosphere, observe the distribution of ozone in its upper layers, monitor the radiation environment and perform a number of other tasks.
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