♦ Russia launched a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from the Vostochny spaceport with 52 satellites on 28 December 2025. The payload includes two Aist-2T satellites and 50 smaller spacecraft. The Aist-2T satellites are designed to photograph the Earth’s surface and produce stereoscopic images to build digital terrain models. They will also support monitoring of fires, floods, and volcanic activity.

♦ In a separate launch, Russia sent three Iranian communications satellites into orbit, Iranian state television reported. A Russian rocket placed the satellites — Paya, Kowsar, and Zafar-2 — into a 500-kilometre orbit from Vostochny. Paya weighs 150 kilograms and is the heaviest satellite Iran has placed in orbit. Kowsar weighs 35 kilograms. The report did not provide the weight of Zafar-2.