The state corporation Roskosmos announces that the preparation of the components of the Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle for launch has begun at the Vostochny cosmodrome in the Amur Region.
“In the assembly and test building of the launch vehicle of the unified technical complex, the joint calculation of representatives of the enterprises of the rocket and space industry began work on removing the pressure seal from the blocks, visual inspection and transfer of the launch vehicle blocks to the workplace. In the near future, specialists will begin electrical checks on single blocks, after which the assembly of the “package” (blocks of the first and second stages) of the launch vehicle will begin, ”the state corporation said in a statement.
The rocket will launch the Meteor-M No. 2-2 Earth remote sensing satellite into orbit. The launch is tentatively scheduled for early July. This will be the first launch from Vostochny this year.
It is also reported that work is already underway to prepare technological equipment for refueling the Fregat upper stage, which will be used as part of the upcoming launch campaign. Joint electrical checks and pneumo-vacuum tests of the upper stage are underway in the hall of the assembly and test building of spacecraft.
We add that the satellite "Meteor-M" No. 2-2 is designed to obtain global and local images of cloudiness, the Earth's surface, ice and snow cover, as well as to collect various scientific data.
Source: 3dnews.ru