Russia's flight test commission has decided to complete testing Soyuz-2.1a and Soyuz-2.1b rockets and to hand the launch vehicles over for operation by the Defense Ministry and Russian state corporation Roscosmos, the defense ministry said in a press release on Wednesday.

"Flight tests of Soyuz-2 1a and 1b launch vehicles are completed. The decision was taken by the State Commission for conducting flight tests of manned space complexes. The commission's meeting concluded that flight tests of the Souyz-2 1a and 1b launch vehicle versions have been positive, and the flight test program has been fully executed," the release said.

The flight test commission has also decided to complete testing the Fregat booster produced by the Lavochkin Research and Production Association. Both the Fregat booster and the Soyuz rockets will be transferred to the defense ministry and Roscosmos for operation, the release added.

The Soyuz-2 rockets were developed starting from 2006. The 1a variant includes a digital control system in place of its analog predecessor, as well as an improved booster and fuel injection systems. It was first tested in 2011 at the Guiana Space Center.

earlier report
Russian manufacturer to make 16 satellites to fulfil 2015 contracts
Russia's Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems (ISS-Reshetnev) company has closed deals to supply 16 satellites for various purposes in 2015, the company said Wednesday.

"Now at ISS-Reshetnev's facilities there are more than 30 satellites at various stages of production. The company has signed new contracts for the production of 16 more satellites," according to a statement on the company's website.

Detailing results for 2015, ISS-Reshetnev said that eight satellites produced by the company had been launched into various orbits throughout the year, while another 12 satellites are currently waiting to be launched. A total of 96 ISS-Reshetnev satellites are orbiting the Earth, which makes up over two-thirds of Russia's orbital fleet, the statement noted.

As part of its contribution to Russia's Federal Space Program, ISS-Reshetnev completed three security-oriented orbital constellations, the statement added. A total of five Russian space-based systems now operate via satellites built by the company.

ISS-Reshetnev was founded in 1959 as part of Sergey Korolev's OKB-1 Special Design Bureau of Research and Development Institute. Named after Korolev's close associate, Mikhail Reshetnev, the company started from supervising ballistic missile designs, and further started to develop launch vehicles and satellites.

Source: Sputnik News