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The Rodnik satellite in operational position. Click red arrow to rotate the virtual model. A long deployable boom helps the spacecraft to keep its antennas pointed toward the Earth without any use of propellant, thanks to graviational pull of our planet. Copyright © 2013 Anatoly Zak Previous chapter: Strela satellite series
Russia replenishes classified satellite network Published: 2013 Jan. 15; updated: Jan. 17
Russia opened the record of space missions in 2013 with a launch of a converted ballistic missile carrying a trio of military satellites. A Rockot booster equipped with a Briz-KM upper stage lifted off from Pad No. 3 at Site 133 in Plesetsk Cosmodrome on Jan 15, 2013, at 20:24:59 Moscow Time (11:25 EST). The vehicle was carrying a trio of military communications satellites for a constellation believed to be designated Rodnik-S. The spacecraft is the latest incarnation of the Strela series, one of the oldest military satellite families tracing its roots to the 1960s. Rodnik also closely resembles its civilian version - Gonets-M. According to Aleksei Zolotukhin, a representative of Russia's Air and Space Defense Forces, VKO, quoted by RIA Novosti news agency, ground facilities of Titov Chief Testing Center started tracking the Rockot vehicle at 20:28 Moscow Time. The satellites were expected to reach their operational orbit at 22:09 Moscow Time (13:09 EST), Zolotukhin said. The Interfax news agency reported that the Briz-KM upper stage with its payloads successfully reached an initial parking orbit. A second firing of the engine onboard Briz-KM was expected before the release of the satellites into their final orbit. The official Russian media confirmed the successful delivery of the satellites around 22:18 Moscow Time. The satellites were officially designated Kosmos-2482, Kosmos-2483 and Kosmos-2484. However final orbital parameters of the Briz-KM stage indicated that the vehicle had not performed as scheduled. After releasing its payload, Briz-KM apparently never initiated the last pre-programmed firing of its engine, in order to lower the perigee (lowest point of its orbit) and thus accelerate its reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. It was the first space mission involving a beleaguered Briz upper stage, since a similar vehicle nearly doomed a launch of the Proton rocket last year. The success of the latest mission would clear the way to the return to flight for Proton, Russia's commercial workhorse. The latest Rockot mission with Rodnik satellites was previously scheduled for Aug. 17 and Sept. 14, 2012, before the Proton accident in August. It was later expected in October 2012, however by that month it was rescheduled for November 29. The mission was then postponed to December 8, 2012, at 00:34:48 Moscow Summer Time. By Dec. 6, the launch was delayed until Jan. 15, 2013, due to problems with the performance of the flight control avionics onboard Briz-KM upper stage. On Dec. 8, another Proton left Yamal-402 satellite in the wrong orbit following an engine failure onboard Briz-M stage. Rockot was finally rolled out to the launch pad on Jan. 9, 2013. Rodnik series In 2005, in connection with a military launch from Plesetsk on December 21, official Russian media disclosed the existence of the Rodnik ("water spring") satellites. The communications network of the same name was also associated with Strela-3M (14F132) satellites, which were launched along with their predecessors -- Strela-3. Rodnik satellites were believed to be a military version of the Gonets spacecraft upgrade known as Gonets-M. Like their predecessors in the Strela (an "arrow") family of satellites, Rodnik (Strela-3M) spacecraft were designed for the so-called "store-and-dump" communications. The spacecraft of this type records a piece of communication, such as a fax, a telex or an e-mail, in its onboard recorder as it overflies a sender and when the satellite reaches a range of receiving antennas of an addressee, it downlinks the message. The method was intended primarily for communications in very remote areas lacking more traditional ground-based communications channels. Strela-3 are believed to be used by military and civilian intelligence services and other government agencies. (501)
Rodnik (Strela-3M) missions 2005 Dec. 21: Russian space forces launched a dual payload from the nation's northern cosmodrome in Plesetsk. A Kosmos-3M rocket (No. 232) blasted off from Pad 1 at Site 132 at 22:34 Moscow Time on December 21, 2005, carrying the Gonets-1M ("messenger") low-orbit communications satellite for the Russian government agencies and a classified military payload, which was not given any designation in the official statements immediately following the launch. The unnamed satellite were later identified as belonging to a brand-new Rodnik series and it was given an official name Kosmos-2416. A representative of the Russian space forces said that the rocket had performed flawlessly and the spacecraft had been expected to separate from the rocket at 23:28 Moscow Time, however the milestone could not be confirmed until the payloads entered the communications range with ground control stations at 00:28 Moscow Time on December 22, 2005, or almost two hours after the launch. The mission was previously scheduled to take off on Dec. 15, 2005 and Dec. 20, 2005. 2008 May 23: A converted ballistic missile delivered a cluster of satellites, after a successful launch from Russia's northern cosmodrome. The Rockot booster lifted off from Plesetsk on May 23, 2008, at 19:20:09. The vehicle carried a trio of Strela-3 (Rodnik) satellites officially identified as Kosmos-2437, -2438 and -2439, along with the Yubileiny experimental spacecraft. The separation of three Strela satellites from Briz-KM upper stage was scheduled for 21:04:18 Moscow Time on May 23. The separation of the Yubileiny spacecraft was scheduled for 21:05:08 Moscow Time. The maneuver of deorbiting of the Briz-KM upper stage was scheduled between 21:15:15 and 21:16:55 Moscow Time. The launch was previously expected at the end of 2007 and on Feb. 28, 2008. 2009 July 6: Russia launched a trio of military satellites from its northern cosmodrome. The Rockot booster lifted off on July 6, 2009, at 05:26 Moscow Time, carrying three military satellites, according to the official Russian media. The payloads, identified as Kosmos-2451, -2452 and -2453 were released into their operational orbit at 07:01 Moscow Time. ISS Reshetnev later reported that it was responsible for the development and manufacturing of the triple payload in the mission and that the satellites were designed for military communications. 2010 Sept. 8: Russia launched a converted ballistic missile with a satellite trio from the nation's northern launch site. The Rockot booster lifted off from Plesetsk Cosmodrome on Sept. 8, 2010, at 07:30 Moscow Time. The vehicle carried a Gonets-M No. 12 spacecraft for the Gonets-D1M network, along with two classified payloads - Kosmos-2467 and -2468 -- possibly belonging to the Rodnik series of military satellites. Payloads were scheduled to separate from the Briz-KM upper stage at 09:14 Moscow Time, while vehicles would be in the range of the Russian ground control stations, according to a Russian space forces spokesman. The Russian space agency, Roskosmos, qualified the mission as a success. This launch was previously expected on Dec. 28, 2009, and was later delayed to February, March and Sept. 4, 2010. 2012 July 28: Almost a year and a half after a launch failure, Russia's Rockot booster returned to flight successfully delivering four satellites. The light-weight launcher lifted off on July 28, 2012, at 05:35:34 Moscow Time (01:35 GMT; planned liftoff time was 05:35:00) from Pad 3 at Site 133 in Plesetsk. According to official reports, it carried a pair of Gonets-M communications satellites (No. 13 and No. 14) for the Gonets-D1M multi-function network, MSPSS, and a MiR (Yubileiny-2) remote-sensing spacecraft. A classified military satellite was also announced to be onboard under an official designation Kosmos-2481. According to Russian sources, it belonged to the Strela communications network (17F13) and was similar to civilian Gonets satellites. Russian space agency, Roskosmos, confirmed that both Gonets payloads and MiR successfully reached the orbit, separating from their upper stage at 07:19 Moscow Time on July 28 (planned separation time for MiR was reported to be 07:20:33). For Gonets the operational orbit has an altitude of 1,500 kilometers and an inclination 82.5 degrees toward the Equator. Industry sources confirmed that the first communication session between ground control and MiR (Yubileiny-2) satellite had been conducted successfully. The launch was preliminary planned in December 2011, in March 2012, but it had to be postponed to May 26, June 30, then to July 13 and to July 28. The last two-week delay was caused primarily by issues with avionics onboard Rockot's Briz-KM upper stage. Civilian payload were delivered to Plesetsk on May 28 and the fueling of the launch vehicle was conducted on July 26. APPENDIX Rodnik (Strela-3M) launches:
Specifications of the Rodnik (Strela-3M/14F132) satellites (deriving from available information on Gonets-M):
Writing and illustrations by Anatoly Zak Last update: January 17, 2013 All rights reserved |
IMAGE ARCHIVE
Official photos showing the Gonets-M satellites which closely resemble Rodnik spacecraft. Click to enlarge. Credit: ISS Reshetnev
A Rockot booster lifts off with a trio of Rodnik satellites on Jan. 15, 2013. Credit: Zvezda TV Channel
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