Roscosmos, AFK Sistema's Sputnix to create constellation of Earth remote sensing satellites

MOSCOW. Sept 18 (Interfax) - Roscosmos and AFK Sistema have signed a cooperation agreement to create a constellation of Earth remote sensing satellites, the Russian state space corporation said in a statement on Thursday.

"The document allows Sputnix Group, a subsidiary of AFK Sistema, to form a constellation of Earth remote sensing satellites which Roscosmos will help place into orbit," the statement said.

The agreement was signed by Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Bakanov and AFK Sistema founder Vladimir Yevtushenkov, it said.

"We will build satellites and supply data from them to the Earth remote sensing federal fund in order to be subsequently provided to users," the statement quoted Bakanov as saying.

"At the first stage, the sides will jointly decide on the future technical parameters and design of the satellites," it said.

The project will help create conditions for the accelerated development of the private spaceflight sector in Russia, it said.

"As part of our joint work, we plan to leverage the public-private partnership mechanism for space infrastructure- and spacecraft-related projects," Bakanov said.