Roscosmos will create a constellation of satellites for global monitoring of the Earth

Roscosmos has begun work on the Griffon group of ultra-small satellites, designed to monitor the Earth’s surface, told head of the state corporation Yuri Borisov at the International Astronautical Congress IAC-2023 in Baku.

“We have begun to create a constellation of surveillance type ultra-small satellites called Griffon. These are 136 devices in orbit, which will provide high-intensity information about any territory of our country and the entire world,” he said.

This system also provides for a wide ground network for receiving and processing information, the head of Roscosmos added.

Borisov also spoke about the Sphere program, which unites several multi-satellite constellations: five telecommunications areas and five Earth remote sensing systems.

At the end of July, Roscosmos reported, which invited Africa to participate in the creation of the Griffin system. The surveillance space system, the state corporation noted then, will allow receiving up-to-date information at least 40 hours around the world and every 30 hours from all over Russia.

In the summer of 2021, Roscosmos said that the Sphere project, designed to provide comprehensive communication services, navigation and remote sensing of the Earth, in its current parameters includes 162 spacecraft. They should be launched before 2030. In July 2022, the government approved the project with budget funding of 95 billion rubles.