The Russian-Ukrainian Koronas-F solar observatory satellite was launched into a circular 500km (310 miles), 85í inclination orbit by a Tsyklon 3 booster from Plesetsk on 31 July. The 2,260kg (4,980lb) spacecraft will study the Sun in a project involving international partners in former Soviet states, as well as France, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, the UK and the USA.
The satellite will study the dynamic processes of solar activity in a broad range of electromagnetic spectrums, solar cosmic rays and the influence of solar activity on the magnetosphere.
Source: Flight International