Sky Spies: Russia Sends Satellites to Watch Over Us

Early on Tuesday, Russia shot a mighty Soyuz rocket into space from its cosmodrome in Vostochny. On board were important cargo: two satellites meant to keep an eye on the weather in space, and 53 tiny satellites, including two from Iran. You might wonder, what's the ionosphere? It's the layer where Earth's atmosphere meets space. NASA tells us it stretches from about 50 to 400 miles above our heads.

Each of the two Ionosfera-M satellites, heavyweights at 430 kg each, will work at an altitude of 820 km. Russia plans to launch two more in 2025, making a total of four. Among the 53 small satellites are Iran's Kowsar, which will take high-resolution images, and Hodhod, a communications satellite. There's also the first Russian-Chinese student satellite, Druzhba ATURK. Russia has a history with Iran. Back in February, they launched an Iranian research satellite to scan the country's landscape from space.

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