launches Skif-D and three Gonets-M satellites

A rocket launched the Skif-D demonstration satellite and three Gonets-M communications satellites from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia, on 22 October 2022, at 19:57 UTC (23 October, at 04:57 local time). According to Roscosmos, the low-Earth orbit “Gonets-M” (Гонец-М) satellites are “designed to transmit data and provide mobile satellite communications services”, while Skif-D (Скиф-Д) is a “demonstration satellite is designed to test new technical solutions for high-speed Internet”, the first satellite of the Sfera project (Сфера). This is the first launch of a Soyuz-2 launch vehicle using entirely “Naphthyl”, described by Roscosmos as “an environmentally safe type of hydrocarbon fuel with the use of polymer additives” that “provides increased efficiency”. Credit: Roscosmos launch with Skif-D and three Gonets-M satellites Пуск Союз-2.1б с Скиф-Д и Гонец-М