The Skif spacecraft are designed to provide broadband Internet access
VOSTOCHNY COSMODROME /Amur Region/, October 14. /tass/. The launch of the Skif spacecraft and the Marathon satellite constellation as part of the Sphere program, which allows creating a full-fledged broadband Internet system in Russia, will contribute to the prevention of man-made and environmental disasters, Dmitry Rogozin, Director General of Roscosmos, told reporters on Thursday.
"In 2022 and in 2023 [we plan] to launch prototypes of small devices that we will launch serially - this is the Marathon program and the Skif program. One of them is broadband Internet access, the second is Internet broadcasting, which is also very important for our country. We have 70% of the territory in the permafrost zone, sparsely populated territories and it is the Internet broadcasting that allows for full control of the infrastructure, <...> any anomalies will be immediately detected by the sensor and communicated through space. That is, in fact, it will help to avoid some man-made and environmental disasters," Rogozin said.
The Skif spacecraft are designed to provide broadband Internet access, they are being developed as part of the Sphere program announced in 2018. In addition to communication subsystems, the "Sphere" will include Earth remote sensing devices. In total, there will be about 380 devices in the system. The development of the "Sphere" will also make it possible to organize a mass movement of drones in Russia both in the airspace and on the ground.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about the "Sphere" during a direct line on June 7, 2018. According to him, Russia plans to launch more than 600 communication and remote sensing satellites in the next few years. The creation of a satellite communication system was provided for by the Digital Economy program approved in the summer of 2017 (calculated until 2024).
