The Shvabe holding company (part of Rostec) created precision scanning mirror units for the Elektro-L No. 5 meteorological satellite. Thanks to these devices, the spacecraft obtained a highly detailed image of the Earth’s full disk from an altitude of 36 thousand kilometers.
Inside the units, special mirrors rotate with high precision, sequentially scanning different areas of the Earth’s surface. As a result, a single digital image of the planet is formed — without the need to stitch together individual fragments.
Elektro-L No. 5 is a Russian hydrometeorological satellite launched on February 12, 2026, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by a Proton-M launch vehicle. The 2.12-ton spacecraft operates in geostationary orbit at an altitude of about 36 thousand kilometers, where it continuously "hovers" above one point on Earth, providing round-the-clock monitoring of the planet. The satellite is equipped with the MSU-GS multispectral scanning instrument, which makes it possible to obtain images in the visible and infrared ranges with a resolution of 1 to 4 km per pixel. The spacecraft is intended for weather forecasting, cyclone tracking, monitoring ice conditions and the oceans, as well as relaying signals from emergency radio beacons of the COSPAS-SARSAT system. The guaranteed service life of the satellite in orbit is at least 10 years.