Russia to orbit 2 space laboratories

Russia is planning to launch two space laboratories into orbit around Earth within the next four years, a space company said Thursday. The Central Scientific Research Institute of Machine Manufacturing said an X-ray observatory, Spektr-RG, will be launched in 2013, RIA Novosti reported. Its main scientific mission will be to study the large-scale structure of the universe and super-massive black holes. Following the Spektr-RG, an ultraviolet spectrum space observatory dubbed Spektr-UF will be launched in 2016. An international project with Russian, Spanish, German and Ukrainian participation, Spektr-UF will study the universe in the ultraviolet spectrum, which is not possible with ground-based instruments.