Russia has “unique” expertise in space technology, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. Moscow plans to utilize this advantage to launch as many as 600 satellites and build brand-new rockets in the coming years, he added.

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“We have our own unique new ‘Sfera’ [Sphere] program,” the president said during a live televised call-in show. The project envisions “launching more than 600 satellites in the coming years,” which will become part of a new satellite positioning, Earth monitoring, and communications system. The prospective satellite network was described as “a real breakthrough.”

That in turn could lead to “a revolution in the field of communication,” Putin said. The new system could provide communication that would rival cable communication in terms of quality and coverage, but would be cheaper and easier to access. However, Russia’s space technology development is not limited to new satellites.

“By 2022, we will have conducted super-heavy rocket tests,” he said. The new space vehicles are expected to be used in outer space exploration. By the same time, Russia is also expected to conduct the first unmanned flights using the new rockets.

Manned spaceflights using the super-heavy rockets are expected to start as early as in 2024, according to Putin.