Селитренное городище

3 SATELLITES REQUIRED TO KEEP RUSSIA ABREAST OF THE WEATHER

Russia should launch at least 3 meteorological satellites in the next few years to receive reliable weather forecasts, according to Valery Dyadyuchenko, Deputy Chief of the Russian Meteorological Service.

?These days Russian meteorologists have to receive 99% of necessary information from their foreign partners due to a breakdown of the transmitters of the only national weather satellite Meteor-3M,? said he. ?The satellite?s equipment works OK but we can?t take the readings,? said Dyadyuchenko.

Meteorologists are only receiving images of a distant sounding of Earth with resolution up to 40 meters. Besides, the operational resource of the satellite is due to expire at the end of 2004. ?We should constantly keep at least three satellites orbiting the planet to keep ourselves from falling into complete dependence on services rendered by the foreign agencies. Two of the satellites should be of a polar orbiting type, and one more should be a geostationary satellite,? according to Dyadyuchenko. Two polar orbiting satellites are supposed to move from south to north to ensure the collection of data every 12 hours.

A geostationary satellite is designed to ?hang? over the equator line of the Indian Ocean, at 76 degrees of eastern longitude, a area specifically reserved for Russia by the international community. Dyadyuchenko said that Russia would be able to launch such a satellite only in 2006. A polar orbiting weather satellite of the Meteor-3M series is slated for launching in 2005. The first national weather satellite Meteor-1 was launched 35 years ago, on March 26, 1963. Back in the ?80s, between 3 to 4 satellites were continuously kept in orbit to meet the requirements of the weather service in full.