Russia may decrease the number of satellites in its multi-satellite orbital group Sfera, which is set to rival the existing OneWeb and Starlink constellations of communication satellites, the first deputy director general of state space agency Roscosmos, Yuri Urlichich, said on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th May, 2021) Russia may decrease the number of satellites in its multi-satellite orbital group Sfera, which is set to rival the existing OneWeb and Starlink constellations of communication satellites, the first deputy director general of state space agency Roscosmos, Yuri Urlichich, said on Wednesday.
The orbital group was supposed to include 542 spacecraft, including 15 communication satellites, 12 broadband internet satellites Skif, 264 Marathon satellites, and 251 devices for monitoring Earth. The deployment of the group is expected from 2022 to 2028.
"We are planning to have over 380 spacecraft there," Urlichich said in his online speech to a roundtable at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Moscow.
According to Urlichich, Sfera is expected to have five communication and broadcasting groups and five remote sensing systems.
In 2018, President Vladimir Putin set the task of developing the orbital group Sfera to challenge the monopoly of the UK's OneWeb and US' Starlink constellations.
