Space industry cluster will be created in Belarus. Chairman of the NASB Presidium, Head of the Agency for Space Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Vladimir Gusakov announced the news at a meeting on space activities, which was held at the Academy of Sciences on February 15, 2017. He said, "Today, it is necessary to form a space industry cluster in our country, which will be led by the Agency for Space Research, the Geoinformation Systems Enterprise and the United Institute of Informatics Problems of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. Except the NAS of Belarus organizations, the cluster should include enterprises and higher educational establishments of the country where the research on the subject is being conducted, namely the Belarusian State University, the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics and others. The NAS of Belarus should become a platform for joining intelligence."

On 15 February a meeting on space activities was held at the NAS of Belarus. It was attended by representatives of the Agency for Space Research of the NAS of Belarus, the Geoinformation Systems Unitary Enterprise, the United Institute of Informatics Problems of the NAS of Belarus, the A.V.Lykov Heat and Mass Transfer Institute of the NAS of Belarus, the B.I.Stepanov Institute of Physics, the Institute of Mathematics, and the Republican Unitary Enterprise "Scientific and Production Center of Multipurpose Unmanned Systems" of the NAS of Belarus. The Agency for Space Research activities for 2017 were considered, namely realization of its tasks and functions in the field of space activities at national and international levels; structure and content of the Subprogramme 7 "Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes" of the State Program "High Technologies and Equipment for 2016-2020"; preparation for publishing the Belarusian part of the book under the working title "Union State. Russia and Belarus Cooperation in Space." It was reported about the establishment and development of multi-level Belarusian space system for the Earth remote sensing, using satellite, aircraft and ground-based facilities of remote sensing as well as technologies of their application. Issues of exploitation of the Belarusian space system for the Earth remote sensing, including works on the life extension of the current receiving ground complex, were also considered.

Problems of the implementation of the Union State programs were discussed in details, as well as issues concerning organization of the 7th Belarusian Space Congress in 2017.

Particular attention was paid to the creation and launch of a new Belarusian spacecraft, including the necessity of ground infrastructure modernization. According to the Head of the NASB Unitary Enterprise "Geoinformation Systems", Chief Designer of the Belarusian space system for the Earth remote sensing Sergei Zolotoy, a new spacecraft will have unique features aimed at solution of many problems in the interests of customers both within the country and abroad.