According to Roscosmos, the launch of the Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with the Fregat booster and the Condor-FKA No. 2 spacecraft will take place this fall. The satellite itself was already delivered to Vostochny in the second ten days of September.
The Condor-FKA satellites are launched to perform agricultural tasks, monitor the consequences of man-made and natural emergencies, conduct survey shooting to record the ice situation on the Northern Sea Route and provide highly detailed images of its sections. The first of the satellite family has already completed flight tests, having spent more than a year in Earth orbit.
Two Condor-FKA satellites of the group, plus the all-weather «Obzor-R», which should also be launched into Earth orbit by the end of the year, will create a new satellite mini-network. It will provide coverage of the Northern Sea Route in no more than 14 hours.
The payload of the Condor-FKA No. 2 satellite is a synthetic aperture radar developed by engineers of the Vega concern, which is part of Roselectronica. It is designed to obtain high and medium resolution radar images and is capable of operating in various modes to solve a wide range of tasks.
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