MOSCOW. Oct 25 (Interfax) - Russia is planning to deploy a space surveillance system in orbit and is designing a relevant cluster of satellites, chief designer of the space surveillance system (MAK Vympel) Vitaly Goryuchkin told Interfax.
"There is need for some methods to deploy surveillance instruments outside Russia, say, agreements with friendly countries. A way out is the development of space-based space surveillance means," Goryuchkin said.
"We have such plans, and this kind of system is being developed. But a space-based network is extremely complex and expensive," he said.
The network will enhance the precision of information about small-sized objects in orbit, Goryuchkin said.
"There is a preliminary estimate of the number [of small objects] depending on their size: there are more than 100,000 space objects larger than five centimeters and over one million space objects with a size of about one centimeter," he said.