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Gonets-M

Official photos showing the Gonets-M satellites which closely resemble Rodnik spacecraft. Click to enlarge. Credit: ISS Reshetnev


pad

Click to enlarge. Credit: Russian Ministry of Defense

Block-16

Rockot lifts off with a trio of Rodnik satellites on Nov. 30, 2018. Click to enlarge. Credit: Russian Ministry of Defense


Russian military launches a satellite cluster

On Nov. 30, 2018, a converted ballistic missile launched a cluster of small communications satellites for a classified orbital network. A Block 16 payload included three Rodnik satellites.


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insertion

A Rockot/Briz-KM launcher carrying a trio of Rodnik communications satellites lifted off from Pad 3 at Site 133 in Plesetsk Cosmodrome on Nov. 30, 2018, 05:27 Moscow Time (09:27 EST).

According to the official Russian media, ground assets of the Titov Chief Testing Center began tracking the vehicle two minutes after liftoff. The Russian Ministry of Defense also confirmed that Briz-KM upper stage and its payloads had separated from the second stage of the launch vehicle as planned at 05:33 Moscow Time. The entire orbit insertion process was expected to take around two hours, Ministry of Defense said. At the conclusion of that time period, the Russian military announced that Briz-KM had deployed three satellites into a planned orbit at 07:12 Moscow Time on November 30 (11:12 p.m. EST on November 29). The official statement also said that the Briz-KM stage had been disposed of, (likely in a pre-programmed deorbiting maneuver) and that officers of the center for space control had began tracking four new orbital objects, referring to the three satellites and the upper stage.

After reaching orbit, the three new satellites received official designations Kosmos-2530, Kosmos-2531 and Kosmos-2532.

Peculiarly, NORAD registered five rather than four objects resulting from the launch, counting three satellites and one upper stage:

Object
NORAD ID
International designation
Orbital period
Inclination
Apogee
Perigee
Object A
43751
2018-097A
115.87 minutes
82.51 degrees
1,507 kilometers
1,483 kilometers
Object B
43752
2018-097B
115.90 minutes
82.51 degrees
1,508 kilometers
1,484 kilometers
Object C
43753
2018-097C
115.92 minutes
82.51 degrees
1,509 kilometers
1,486 kilometers
Object D
43754
2018-097D
112.50 minutes
82.51 degrees
1,506 kilometers
1,177 kilometers
Object E
43755
2018-097E
112.43 minutes
82.52 degrees
1,504 kilometers
1,172 kilometers

One extra object could be another maneuverable satellite deployed in three previous Rockot launches. Because Object D and Object E had a lower perigee than three other objects, they likely represented the Briz-KM stage and the unidentified payload released after the separation of three Rodnik satellites and an orbit-lowering maneuver performed by Briz.

This launch was believed to be relying on one of three remaining Rockot vehicles featuring a Ukrainian-built flight control system. Two other Rockots are scheduled to launch a trio of civilian versions of the Rodnik satellites, known as Gonets, and the third Geo-IK-2 satellite.

According to various reports, this mission was previously planned in May, June and August 2017. In the Spring of 2018, the launch was apparently expected during the summer and later slipped to the middle of September and ultimately was set for Nov. 30, 2018.

 


Writing and illustrations by Anatoly Zak

Last update: September 20, 2023

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