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State Commission Clears Soyuz-2.1b Launch From Vostochny With Aist-2T Pair and 50 Smallsats

Two Aist‑2T spacecraft will create stereoscopic terrain models for mapping and emergency response.

Overview

  • Roscosmos said fueling and liftoff from pad 1S are authorized for December 28 at 16:18 Moscow time.
  • The head section with the Fregat upper stage is set to separate about nine and a half minutes after launch, with Aist‑2T deployment targeted within an hour.
  • The Aist‑2T satellites are designed for stereoscopic Earth imaging to build digital terrain models and support disaster monitoring, with a planned active life of at least five years.
  • About 50 secondary payloads are slated for orbit, including university-built CubeSats under the Universat program and the experimental Marathon IoT demonstrator.
  • Student satellites will observe climate change and monitor space weather in low Earth orbit for Roshydromet, and the flight is billed as Russia’s final launch of 2025.