Kazakhstan to launch first remote sensing satellite by yearend

ALMATY, April 10 (Xinhua) -- The Kazakh space agency said Wednesday that it plans to launch the country's first Earth remote sensing satellite by the end of this year.

"The launch of the first medium-resolution remote sensing satellite is planned for the 4th quarter of 2013" from Russia's Yasny Cosmodrome, the press service of KazCosmos said in a press release.

Kazakhstan's remote sensing system includes two optoelectronic satellites, and the cost will be about 260 million euros (about 341 million U.S. dollars), according to the agency.

The second, high-resolution remote sensing satellite is planned to be launched in 2014 from the Guiana Space Center, a French spaceport near Kourou in French Guiana, said KazCosmos.

Astrium, a Paris-based aerospace subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, is a strategic partner in the Kazakh remote sensing program.