MOSCOW. Nov 28 (Interfax-AVN) - The Monitor-E remote probing satellite, launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome on August 26, has sent first pictures of Earth surface, Alexander Bobrenev, press service chief of the Khrunichev space research and production satellite, said on Monday.
"First pictures of Earth surface were received during a regular communication session with the Monitor-E satellite. Thus, we can consider the satellite's working efficiency restored," Bobrenev told Interfax-Military News Agency.
Earlier reports said that problems had occurred in controlling the satellite. Some experts said there were few chances to restore control over the satellite.
According to the flight test program, the check of the satellite's working efficiency and evaluation of its specifications were to end and the preparation of target equipment for Earth surface photography was to begin before September 26.
Monitor-E is the first in the series of remote probing satellites. It is an experimental spacecraft intended for getting quick data from the orbit in the interests of agriculture, forestry, environmental monitoring, search for natural resources, control and evaluation of emergency situations' consequences, and 1:10,000 scale map-making.
The creation of the spacecraft ended the four-year work of the Khrunichev space center on development of space remote probing assets. In particular, the program provides for setting up a group of small spacecraft on the basis of the Yakhta unified space platform, ground-based systems of control, data reception and processing, and a center for planning photography, archiving and cataloguing.
Monitor-E is the first spacecraft in the space segment of the Earth remote probing system. Creation of the Russian orbital group of the remote probing system on the basis of Monitor spacecraft will ensure the regularity of Earth surface observation that is required for the accomplishment of environment monitoring missions.
The spacecraft's weight is 750 kg, and payload weight is 210 kg. It is launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome to a solar synchronous orbit with an altitude of 550 km. Its active service life is five years.
The Khrunichev space center is the satellite's developer and manufacturer.
A Rockot light rocket converted from the RS-18 intercontinental ballistic missile was used to put the satellite in orbit.