http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080611/110098511.html
Russia to launch its first weather satellite
MOSCOW, June 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is set to launch its first weather
satellite, Meteor-M1, in the fourth quarter of 2008, the satellite's
manufacturer said on Wednesday.
Russia currently has no weather satellites and gets its information from
foreign sources.
The Russian state research and development company VNIIEM said its specialists
had assembled the satellite and launched "the final stage of complex tests."
The 2.7 ton Meteor-M1 will be put into a 830 km (515 mile) orbit by a Soyuz-2
launch vehicle and a Frigate upper stage.
Its service life will be five to seven years.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
