Russia launches 73 satellites into space simultaneously

Russia's Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket has sent 73 satellites into space, marking the biggest simultaneous launch of satellites in the country’s history.

A Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket equipped with a Fregat booster launched the Kanopus-V-IK and 72 associated small satellites from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome spaceport, Russia’s Roscosmos space agency was quoted by the Tass news agency as saying on Friday.

Kanopus-V-IK satellite is specialized in detecting hotspots of fire and monitoring emergencies.

The Mayak microsatellite, which was among the satellites launched on Friday, is set to be the brightest man-made object in orbit as it will unfurl a giant pyramid-shaped solar reflector once it begins to orbit in space.

Mayak, named after he Russian word for “beacon,” will be the fourth-brightest object in space after the Sun, the Moon, and Venus.

Some of the satellites reportedly belong to a number of operators from Japan, Norway, Canada and the US.

Russian news agencies later reported that about eight hours after lift-off, the satellites had successfully separated.

The Fregat booster sent the satellites into three different orbits. It will leave orbit and fall back to a designated area in the Indian Ocean after accomplishing the mission.

Russia’s previous record was set at 36 satellites carried by a Dnepr carrier rocket launched from the Kapustin Yar military launch range in 2014.

In February, India broke a world record after sending 104 satellites into space from a single rocket.