Griffin (Earth Global Monitoring System)

2024: Production of satellites of the Griffon Earth global monitoring system launched in Novosibirsk

On August 6, 2024, it became known about the launch of the production of satellites of the Griffon global Earth monitoring system in Novosibirsk. Novosibirsk State University (NSU) has begun designing, assembling and testing small spacecraft as part of this important project. This was announced by the rector of NSU Mikhail Fedoruk.

The first four Griffon satellites will be ready by the end of 2024. For August 2024, they are at the stage of installation. The Griffon project, initiated by Roscosmos, includes a constellation of 136 ultra-small cubsat satellites with a resolution of 2.5 meters per pixel. It is planned that the full orbital grouping will be deployed between 2024 and 2026.

source = NSU site

The main goal of the Griffon satellites will be global monitoring of the Earth. They will track fires, floods, mining, regulate the flow of transport and transmit data on any territory of Russia and the world. It is expected that the system will allow you to receive data on the territory of Russia every 30 hours, and on the territories of the whole world - every 38 hours.

The debut four Griffon devices will cost ₽400 million, and the full deployment of the group will cost ₽2 billion. The launch of satellites is carried out within the framework of the federal project "Sphere," which combines several multi-satellite groups aimed at remote sensing of the Earth and telecommunications. The head of Roscosmos Iouri Borisov said that the Sphere project provides for the creation of a global satellite network to provide Internet and telephone communications throughout Russia and other countries. The program includes more than 600 satellites whose deployment began in July 2018.

Sergey Prokhorov, Director of the Department of Advanced Programs and the Sphere Project of Roscosmos, said that the first four Griffon vehicles will be launched into orbit by the end of 2024. Experts will prepare them for shipment to the cosmodrome in late summer - early autumn 2024, after which their preparation for launch will continue at the launch complex. Which launch vehicle will be used and from which cosmodrome the launch will take place has not yet been specified.^[1]

2023

Allocation of 9 billion rubles for the development of the system

Lands More than 9 billion rubles state funds are provided for the development of the Grifon space remote sensing system (remote sensing system). This is stated in the draft federal budget for 2024-2026, which was adopted on November 15, 2023 in the second reading.

As the Prime agency writes with reference to this document, Roscosmos will receive 2.68 billion rubles in 2024, 3.775 billion rubles in 2025 and 2.58 billion rubles in 2026 "in order to develop a space system for remote sensing of the Earth based on small spacecraft" Sphere - Griffin. "

More than 9 billion rubles will be allocated from the budget for the development of the Griffin system

Earth remote sensing spacecraft are used to study Earth's natural resources and solve meteorology problems. Satellites for the study of natural resources are equipped mainly with optical or radar equipment, the advantages of the latter are that it allows you to observe the surface of the Earth at any time of the day, regardless of the state of the atmosphere. SPZ systems can be used to fight fires and monitor water bodies.

According to Ekaterina Tverdokhlebova, head of the Center for Automatic Space Systems and Complexes of TsNIImash (the head scientific institute of Roscosmos), the cost of one Griffin apparatus should be 50 million rubles. Satellites will shoot the Earth with a resolution of about four meters. The group will fully update the pictures of the territory of Russia in about a day.

According to the plans of Roskosmos, four experimental satellites "Griffon" will be launched in 2024, and the main group consisting of 136 spacecraft - in 2025-2026.

The Griffin satellite constellation will allow you to receive data every 30 hours from Russia and at least 38 hours around the world. The system will analyze data to detect changes in natural phenomena and man-made processes, track transport flows and monitor mining. The Griffin project is planned to be included in the program for creating the Russian multi-satellite group Sphere^[2]

Getting Started with the System

Roscosmos has begun work on the Griffin constellation of ultra-small satellites designed to monitor the Earth's surface. The state corporation told about this in early October 2023.

We have begun to create a constellation of the reference type of ultra-small satellites called "Griffin." These are 136 vehicles in orbit, which with high intensity will provide information about any territory of our country and the entire territory of the world, - said the general director of Roscosmos Iouri Borisov during a session of the heads of space agencies at the International Astronautical Congress in Baku.

Roscosmos has begun to create a grouping of the reference type of ultra-small satellites called "Griffin"

According to him, the new system will provide for a wide and in-depth terrestrial network for receiving and processing information.

Earlier it was reported that the state corporation Roscosmos invited African countries to join the creation of Griffin. With the help of nanosatellites, it will be possible to receive up-to-date information about the earth's surface at least 40 hours around the world and every 30 hours from all over Russia.

In July 2023, Iouri Borisov said that African countries are showing great interest in the Griffin Earth global monitoring system. He noted then that in African countries the issue of monitoring the earth's surface, in particular water resources, fires, is very acute, and the Russian side offers them joint cooperation up to the development of satellites.

The initiator and driver of the commercial project of the Griffin system was the head institute of Roscosmos - TsNIImash in partnership with leading universities in the country.

The concept of the Griffin information system is based on a new understanding of the approach to space systems. This is the emergence of a single information and space space, consisting of space, ground infrastructures and a multi-satellite information platform capable of processing petabytes of data generated from space, forming products and services close to real-time conditions in the field of remote sensing of the Earth (DZZ), the Roscosmos website says[3]

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