MOSCOW, June 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is set to launch its first weather satellite, Meteor-M1, in the fourth quarter of 2008, the satellite's manufacturer said on Wednesday.
Russia currently has no weather satellites and gets its information from foreign sources.
The Russian state research and development company VNIIEM said its specialists had assembled the satellite and launched "the final stage of complex tests."
The 2.7 ton Meteor-M1 will be put into a 830 km (515 mile) orbit by a Soyuz-2 launch vehicle and a Frigate upper stage.
Its service life will be five to seven years.
