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 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.
