A Soyuz rocket set off in Kazakhstan on Sunday (today) carrying Russia’s first satellite for monitoring the Arctic’s climate, the Roscosmos space agency said.

According to the details, Russia has launched its first space satellite Arktika-M to monitor the climate in the Arctic .

The Arctic has warmed more than twice as fast as the global average over the last three decades and Moscow is seeking to develop the energy-rich region.

However, the satellite successfully conducted its mission and reached its intended orbit, Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency, said in a post on Twitter.

For 2023, Russia plans to send another satellite and combined the two will offer round-the-clock, all-weather monitoring of the Arctic Ocean and the surface of the Earth, the agency added.

The Arktika-M will have a highly elliptical orbit that passes high over northern latitudes allowing it to monitor northern regions for lengthy periods before it loops back down under Earth.

At the right orbit, the satellite will be able to monitor and take images every 15-30 minutes of the Arctic, Roscosmos said.

Furthermore, the satellite will also be able to retransmit distress signals from ships, aircraft or people in remote areas as part of the international Cospas-Sarsat satellite-based search and rescue programme.

Пришлось поволноваться за этот пуск больше обычного. Ветер до 2 км был такой силы, что даже для нашего выносливого и некапризного "Союза-2" это было на самом пределе допуска по метеоусловиям. Но ракета и ее система управления блестяще справились. pic.twitter.com/tNwh2zcpUm

— РОГОЗИН (@Rogozin) February 28, 2021