Space industry seen as driver of Belarus' innovative development

MINSK, 15 November (BelTA) – Space industry has become a driver of the innovative way of Belarus' development. Aleksandr Shumilin, Academic Secretary of the Department of Physics, Mathematics and Informatics of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB), made the statement during the plenary session of the Eurasian Economic Union's international business forum Space Integration in Moscow, BelTA has learned.

The NASB press service quoted Aleksandr Shumilin as saying: “Belarus chose the path of innovations a long time ago. There is no doubt that space industry has become a driver of it. Information, communication, and aerospace technologies for the remote sensing of Earth, instrument-making for outer space applications, and electronic industry have been defined as priority spheres of innovative development of our country. It provides for broad integration of Belarusian scientific organizations and industrial enterprises of the space industry within the framework of international R&D projects with friendly countries.”

Speaking about manufacturing cooperation in space industry, the academic secretary remarked that cooperation relies on projects and programs, which realization requires the pooling of intellectual, scientific, and manufacturing resources of interested countries in the area of fundamental and applied space research. Those include the creation and joint use of conjugated national systems for the remote sensing of Earth, space communication, television and radio broadcasting systems, development and application of satellite navigation systems, use of results of space activities in various branches of economy, the scientist remarked.

Speaking about accomplishments of scientists of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus in the area of space technologies, Aleksandr Shumilin stressed that scientific organizations have created technologies and equipment for high-precision machining of optics for space applications. Those are used to create optical devices for satellites for the remote sensing of Earth and telescopes for outer space research. Among the technologies developed by the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus one can single out magnetorheological polishing, which already allows reducing the unevenness of surfaces to 0.14nm. It will be in demand for the next few decades. This level of polish is of critical importance for manufacturing optical devices over 2 meters large. Within the framework of an international space project Belarusian scientists have created multilayer electromagnetic screens, which have been mounted on a Japanese spacecraft to ensure effective protection in outer space during its flight to Mercury.

The international business forum Space Integration has been organized with a view to enhancing and expanding international cooperation and manufacturing cooperation in the course of realization of global space projects and with a view to raising the awareness about new breakthrough technologies and solutions.