OREANDA-NEWS. March 12, 2009. Russian Federal Space Agency and Reshetnev Informational Satellite Systems company signed a contract which cover development of the Loutch-4 satellite intended for the Loutch multifunctional space relay system.

The first Loutch contract was signed by Roscosmos in 2005. It implied development and production of two middle-class Express-1000-based spacecraft Loutch-5A and Loutch-5B. The spacecraft are to be launched in 2010 and 2011 accordingly.

Loutch-4 will become the third spacecraft in the system. Its lifetime is 12 years, mass is about 3t. It will be developed on the basis of the Express-2000 heavy paltform. Loutch-4 will carry payload module with the onboard relay system, which is capable of performing Loutch-5A and Loutch-5B functions. It will also maintain a Ka-band intersatellite relay channel and an experimental personal mobile communication S-band link. Loutch-4 is to be launched in 2013, in accordance with the Russian Federal Space Program.