Belarus Space Program

Belarus is a full-fledged space power, since on November 1, 2013, by decision of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly, Belarus was admitted to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. The State policy of the Republic of Belarus with regard to space activities is established by the National Space Council on the basis of national interests and the need to carry out national economic and government work effectively using space information.

BelKA (abbreviation of Bel aruski to asmichny and Paraty ) was the first Belarusian artificial Earth satellite. The project of the first Belarusian satellite appeared in 2003 . BelKA was planned to become an element of the Belarusian - Russian group of satellites for remote sensing of the Earth . On the Russian side, the group was to consist of satellites "Monitor" and "Baumenets". The launch took place 26 July 2006, but at the 73rd second there was an emergency shutdown of the launch vehicle's engines.

BKA BelKA (abbreviation for the Belarusian spacecraft ) is the second Belarusian spacecraft for remote sensing of the Earth. The Belarusian satellite for the remote sensing of Earth with the spatial resolution of 2m was inserted into orbit on 22 July 2012 and has been working fine since then. The Belarusian satellite was launched from the Baikonur space launcher complex using a Soyuz-FG booster rocket. At an altitude of 500-520km, the satellite was put into an orbit close to the operational one. The satellite was made on the order of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. The satellite transmits data to a Minsk-based flight control complex. In 2018 the satellite’s service life was extended till 2021. The data the satellite provides is used by 11 Belarusian government agencies.

National System of Satellite Communication and Broadcast of the Republic of Belarus is based on its own communication satellite BELINTERSAT-1. It provides a wide range of telecommunication services (satellite TV and radio broadcasting, internet access, etc.). The satellite carries transponders operating in C- and Ku-bands. BELINTERSAT-1 is based on the DFH-4 bus (China) manufactured of 100% certified flight-quality components. It is the 9th satellite on this platform, launched into the geostationary orbit. «Thales Alenia Space» (France-Italy), a well-known world leader in the design and construction of the spacecraft, is a supplier of the BELINTERSAT-1 payload (transponders). The Belarusian communications satellite Belintersat-1 works well. It covers Europe, Africa, and Asia. A Belarusian national system for satellite communications and broadcasting has been commissioned thanks to the telecommunications satellite.

In 2018 a Belarusian educational nanosatellite was commissioned. It is used to train aerospace industry specialists. CubeBel-1 (another name - BSUSat-1 ) is a Belarusian spacecraft for remote sensing of the Earth . On October 29, 2018, at 03.43, the BSUSat-1 nanosatellite of the Belarusian State University was successfully put into orbit more than 500 kilometers above the surface of the Earth. A stable connection has been established and maintained with the device, its on-board systems are fully functioning. The parameters of the device are 20 × 10 × 10 cm, weight - a little more than 1.6 kg.

By a decision of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB), the National Space Research Agency of the NASB was created on 21 May 2015. In 2009 Belarus started creating a national space agency Belarus Space Agency (BSA), First Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB) Piotr Vityaz told reporters on 16 December 2009. “The formation of the new structure has already been launched, many ministries agreed that it is necessary to create a system of control over projects in space exploration and space technologies,” Piotr Vityaz said. “Such a system is to be set up and run by the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. The government will decide how the new structure will be called,” he added. Setting up this new organization is envisaged in the national program for peaceful exploration of outer space for 2008-2012.

The agency’s work is aimed at implementing measures to maintain a unified state policy in this area, implementing measures to represent the republic in the international arena, as well as implementing measures to operate and modernize existing systems and develop plans and tasks for creating a new satellite, the head of the staff of the National Academy of Sciences specified . In addition, the new structure will deal with issues of coordination of international scientific and technical cooperation (Belarus has already signed agreements with Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan).

In recent years, mindful of the increasingly important role played by space technologies in global technical progress, Belarus has also been working more actively on space matters. In 2002, the joint Belarus/Russian Federation Cosmos BR programme, intended to develop technologies for using remote Earth sensing and satellite navigation information for various ecological and national economic purposes, was completed. A new space information-receiving station developed under the program was set up in the city of Minsk.

In 2003, the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus developed the concept of the Belarusian space system for remote Earth sensing. This concept was developed on the basis of an analysis of developments in space activities in countries around the world, the scientific and industrial potential of the Republic of Belarus and the need to develop space information technologies for economic and social purposes in Belarus. It was proposed that the system include both a ground segment and a space segment.

It was proposed that the ground segment of the system encompass (at the information level) the resources currently available in Belarus for the reception, storage and processing of remote Earth sensing satellite information, the establishment of systems and packages not yet available and the development of the functional potential of existing technical, programme and information resources for remote Earth sensing.

With a view to receiving high-resolution remote Earth sensing information, which was not currently received in Belarus, and using it effectively to serve the country’s interests, the space segment of the system should include the Belarusian remote Earth sensing spacecraft BelKA, which will be made by Russian Aviation and Space Agency companies, with the participation of Belarusian companies.

The strategic aim of the project is to create modern applications, based on extensive use of data derived from remote Earth sensing and geographical information technologies, and to make use of such applications in the daily business of state administration and economic activity.

If the project for the creation and operation of the system is successful, Belarus would be able to enter the international market for high-resolution remote Earth sensing data and expand its potential on the international market for equipment for remote sensing of the Earth from space and on the market for geographical information technologies and systems.

In 2003, work was also undertaken in Belarus to set up the new Belarus/Russian Federation Cosmos-SG programme, which is a logical continuation of the Cosmos-BR programme. The proposed objectives of the new program were development of elements of a single system for supplying Russian and Belarusian users with remote Earth sensing information.

A national space program for the period of 2016-2020 is being implemented in Belarus. Plans have been made to develop a new program for the 2021-2026 period. The promising areas of work also include the enhancement of the Belarusian space system for the remote sensing of Earth by means of creating a Russian-Belarusian space system, the creation and deployment of a multilayer system for the remote sensing of Earth, which will include a space component, an unmanned aerial component, and a ground component. Sergei Kilin mentioned the need to find applications for results of the space effort for the sake of Belarus’ social and economic development, including precision farming, digitization of the national economy, and Antarctic exploration. There are also good prospects for the development of the national system for the satellite communications and broadcasting, navigation, geodesic, and mapmaking activities, an aerospace education system. The development of new materials to create spacecraft for near space and deep space exploration, the participation in international projects to study the Moon and Mars are of special interest.