DUSHANBE, October 5, Asia-Plus -- Visiting Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov is visiting Russian military base deployed in Tajikistan.  

During his stay in Tajikistan, the minister also intends to visit the space-surveillance center Okno (Window) in Norak.

Serdyukov has arrived in Tajikistan to participate in a meeting attend meetings of charter organs of the CIS and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).  

Russia''s Okno (Window) space-surveillance complex, located at an altitude of 2,200 meters in the mountains near the Tajik eastern city of Norak, was commissioned in March 2004.  It is a unique space-monitoring installation capable of tracking space objects orbiting the Earth at altitudes 2,000-40,000 kilometers 

The Okno system is fully automated. It performs autonomous monitoring sessions at night in real time, constantly processing information about detected space objects. Detection is passive, based on reflection of the sun''s rays from the surface of space objects, which allows it to consume a small amount of energy.  The role of the center is particularly important in emergency situations, such as a loss of communication with spacecraft or a malfunction of on-board telecommunications systems.