Luch System to Ensure Data Relay Security at Russian Segment on ISS

The placement of the Luch data relay system in 2017 will ensure communications independence and security at the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS), the system's developer said Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visited the Gonets Satellite System company earlier in the day and got acquainted with the system.

"Next year, we will be able to replace NASA’s [Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System] TDRSS in servicing the Russian segment of the ISS, which will allow us to ensure information independence and security, as well as to save about $10 million annually from the state budget," the company officials told Medvedev.

The data relay system comprises space-based repeaters and an infrastructure network on the ground.

The company said the system would allow launching manned spacecraft and cargo ships without support from ground- and water-based technologies outside the Russian territory. It will provide uninterrupted communication with the ISS Russian segment as well as Earth-observation satellites in the low-altitude orbit.