A correspondent from the ‘Sputnik’ agency reported from the observation point that the ‘Soyuz-2.1b’ rocket was successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan today, Wednesday, at 20:13 Moscow time. It is carrying the satellite ‘Bion-M’ No. 2, which is scheduled to be delivered to a high-altitude orbit ranging between 370 and 380 kilometers within 9 minutes and 23 seconds.
In addition to 75 mice and 1500 Drosophila flies, the satellite is carrying medicinal plants, seeds, algae, microorganisms, and animal and human stem cells.
It is worth noting that the ‘Bion’ series began in 1973 and continued until 1996, launching 11 animals such as monkeys, mice, lizards, guppy fish, insects, and unicellular organisms.
In 2013, the first ‘Bion-M’ satellite with an updated design was launched, carrying mice, gerbils, lizards, snails, crustaceans, fish, and microorganisms on a mission that lasted 30 days.
