Belarus launched its first satellite, Belka, in July 2006. However, a Dnepr rocket carrying the Belarusian satellite, along with several international satellites, crashed shortly after lift off from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, due to a first stage engine shutdown.
"The second Belarusian satellite is planned to be orbited by a Russian Rokot carrier rocket from the Plesetsk space center in late 2009," said Sergei Zolotoi, who represents Belka's producer.
He said the second satellite will have a different name. "Giving an old name to a new satellite is bad luck," Zolotoi said, adding that the new spacecraft would be half the weight of the first one and far more maneuverable.
Belka was the name of a Soviet dog, which, along with her companion, Strelka, was the first animal to go into orbit and return alive, making her trip in August 1960.