Oko (satellite)
The satellites of the Oko series ( Russian Око (УС-КС) , German: eye , also US-KS) are formerly Soviet and now Russian early warning satellites . They are launched under the cover name Kosmos .
General
The satellites are placed in two different orbits . A Molnija-M rocket takes off from Plesetsk into a highly elliptical orbit (600 × 40,000 km), which corresponds to that of the Molnija communications satellites with an orbital time of 718 minutes, an orbit inclination of 63 degrees to the equator, an apogee of 39,700 kilometers and a perigee of 600 kilometers. (See Molnija orbit ) With take-offs from Baikonur , the satellites with a Proton-K rocket become geostationaryTransfer orbit brought. The former satellites are referred to as US-K (internal: 73D6), the latter as US-KS (internal: 74Kh6) or SPRN-2 Prognos (this designation is actually wrong, as only the orbit positions were reserved under this name).
On September 26, 1983, one of the satellites, Kosmos 1382, provided data that the Soviet early warning system interpreted as the launch of five US nuclear missiles in the direction of the USSR . The senior officer Stanislaw Evgrafowitsch Petrow in the secret bunker "Serpuchow 15" near Moscow assessed the report as implausible (no nuclear war starts with only five missiles) and reported a false alarm to his superior. In doing so, Petrov may have prevented a nuclear war from breaking out . It was found later that the satellite had responded to a reflection of sunlight from clouds in the higher atmosphere .
history
The development of the Oko satellites probably began in the late 1960s. The satellites were developed and built by the NPO Lavochkin . The first test launch took place under the code name Kosmos-520 on September 19, 1972 from Plesezk. Five more launches followed over the course of the next three years, four of them from Plesetsk and one (Kosmos-775) in a geostationary orbit from Baikonur. From 1977 the frequency of the satellite launches increased sharply when eight more US-CS were launched from Plesetsk. These were brought into such a train that allowed a maximum overview of the west coast of the USA, which in turn restricted the observation of the American ICBM fields. It is believed that Vandenberg Air Force Base should be monitored and at the same time the satellites should be tested by the fairly frequent test starts from there. After these tests, additional satellites were launched in similar orbits, but with the apogee shifted by about 30 degrees to the east, which then took over the monitoring of the US missile fields. Four satellites were necessary for complete surveillance around the clock, but this could not be ensured until 1980 due to satellite failures and other problems. The system was later supplemented by additional satellites on nine different trajectories with an offset of about 40 degrees.
The extremely short lifespan of the satellites for the purpose was noticeable. Of the thirteen first satellites, which were launched between 1972 and 1979, only seven worked longer than 100 days. The satellites were equipped with a self-destruct system that was automatically activated if the satellite lost communication with the ground station. By the time the system was deactivated in 1983, eleven out of thirty-one satellites were lost.
The use of Molnija orbits as opposed to geostationary was due to the low sensor efficiency. Shortly after the launch of ICBMs, it rises above the horizon and the exhaust jet stands out against the blackness of space . From a geostationary position, the sun sometimes appears behind the satellite, resulting in potential glare from atmospheric reflections. Molnia's orbit is much further north with a larger angle between the sun and the satellite, which practically rules out such reflections. Each satellite is in a convenient position to observe the United States for about six hours; So you need at least four satellites for round-the-clock surveillance.
Starting with Kosmos-1546 in 1984, the satellites in Molniya's orbits were supplemented by additional satellites in geostationary orbits in a position off the west coast of Africa . From this position they had a similar angle of view as from the Molnija positions. Between 1980 and 1993, additional satellites were launched into both orbits in rapid succession, with an average of five launches per year. This decreased to about one start per year after this period. Since then, modernized versions of the satellite with a lifespan of over four years have apparently been used. However, it is also possible that this was due to the lesser strategic threat to the US combined with budget issues. From 1988 satellites (US-KMO, internal: 71Kh6) were used for geostationary orbit. According to Russian information, two satellites were in use in 2007 (Kosmos-2422 and Kosmos-2379).
So far a total of 100 Oko satellites have been launched. In 2000, work began on the successor system EKS (Jedinaja Kosmitscheskaja Systema). It should go into the testing phase in 2012. The launch of the first EKS satellite for November 2015 was announced in mid-2015.
technology
An Oko satellite consists of an engine unit, an instrument unit and a payload unit. These systems are mounted on a cylindrical frame that is about two meters long and 1.7 meters in diameter. The total mass of the three-axis stabilized satellite is around 2,400 kilograms at launch. The dry mass of the spacecraft is 1,250 kilograms.
The engine unit is equipped with four orbit maneuver and 16 attitude control engines as well as the associated tanks. The payload consists of a reflector telescope with an opening of 50 centimeters and a large focal length . It is equipped with powerful infrared sensors. In addition, there are a number of smaller telescopes on board to have a wide-angle view available and to be able to monitor the light spectrum . The images from the telescopes are transmitted to the ground control center in real time.
The data is transmitted on a frequency in the S-band of 2298 MHz.
The further developed KMO satellites carry an infrared telescope with an opening of 1 meter and a sun shield that can be extended to a length of 4.5 meters. They weigh around 2500 kg and have a lifespan of five to seven years.
Start list
| Surname | Start date | Launch site | Launcher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kosmos-520 (US-K No. 1) | September 19, 1972 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-606 (US-K No. 2) | 2nd November 1973 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-665 (US-K No. 3) | June 29, 1974 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-706 (US-K No. 4) | January 30, 1975 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-775 (US-KS No. 1) | October 8, 1975 | Baikonur 81/23 | Proton-K |
| Kosmos-862 (US-K No. 5) | October 22, 1976 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-903 (US-K No. 6) | April 11, 1977 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-917 (US-K No. 7) | June 16, 1977 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-931 (US-K No. 8) | 20th July 1977 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1024 (US-K No. 9) | June 28, 1978 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1030 (US-K No. 10) | September 6, 1978 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1109 (US-K No. 11) | June 27, 1979 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1124 (US-K No. 12) | August 28, 1979 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1164 (US-K No. 13) | February 12, 1980 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M, false start because there was a mistake in the fourth stage and so a wrong orbit |
| Kosmos-1172 (US-K No. 14) | April 12, 1980 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1188 (US-K No. 15) | June 14, 1980 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1191 (US-K No. 16) | 2nd July 1980 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1217 (US-K No. 17) | October 24, 1980 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1223 (US-K No. 18) | November 27, 1980 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1247 (US-K No. 19) | 19th February 1981 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1261 (US-K No. 20) | March 31, 1981 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1278 (US-K No. 21) | June 19, 1981 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1285 (US-K No. 22) | 4th August 1981 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1317 (US-K No. 23) | October 31, 1981 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1341 (US-K No. 24) | March 3, 1982 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1348 (US-K No. 25) | April 7, 1982 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1367 (US-K No. 26) | May 20, 1982 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1382 (US-K No. 27) | June 25, 1982 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1409 (US-K No. 28) | 22nd September 1982 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1456 (US-K No. 29) | April 25, 1983 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1481 (US-K No. 30) | July 8, 1983 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1518 (US-K No. 31) | December 28, 1983 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1541 (US-K No. 32) | March 6, 1984 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1546 (US-KS No. 2) | March 29, 1984 | Baikonur 200/40 | Proton-K |
| Kosmos-1547 (US-K No. 33) | April 4th 1984 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1569 (US-K No. 34) | June 6, 1984 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1581 (US-K No. 35) | 3rd July 1984 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1586 (US-K No. 36) | 2nd August 1984 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1596 (US-K No. 37) | September 7, 1984 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1604 (US-K No. 38) | 4th October 1984 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1629 (US-KS No. 3) | February 21, 1985 | Baikonur 200/39 | Proton-K |
| Kosmos-1658 (US-K No. 39) | June 11, 1985 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1661 (US-K No. 40) | June 18, 1985 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1675 (US-K No. 41) | August 12, 1985 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1684 (US-K No. 42) | September 24, 1985 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1687 (US-K No. 43) | September 30, 1985 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1698 (US-K No. 44) | October 22, 1985 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1701 (US-K No. 45) | November 9, 1985 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1729 (US-K No. 46) | February 1, 1986 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1761 (US-K No. 47) | 5th July 1986 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1774 (US-K No. 48) | August 28, 1986 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1783 (US-K No. 49) | 3rd October 1986 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M, false start because there was a mistake in the fourth stage and so a wrong orbit |
| Kosmos-1785 (US-K No. 50) | October 15, 1986 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1793 (US-K No. 51) | November 20, 1986 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1806 (US-K No. 52) | December 12, 1986 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1849 (US-K No. 53) | 4th June 1987 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1851 (US-K No. 54) | June 12, 1987 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1894 (US-KS No. 4) | October 28, 1987 | Baikonur 200/40 | Proton-K |
| Kosmos-1903 (US-K No. 55) | December 21, 1987 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1922 (US-K No. 56) | February 26, 1988 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1940 (US KMO No. 1) | April 26, 1988 | Baikonur 200/39 | Proton-K |
| Kosmos-1966 (US-K No. 57) | August 30, 1988 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1974 (US-K No. 58) | 3rd October 1988 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-1977 (US-K No. 59) | October 25, 1988 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2001 (US-K No. 60) | February 14, 1989 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2050 (US-K No. 61) | November 23, 1989 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2063 (US-K No. 62) | March 27, 1990 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2076 (US-K No. 63) | April 28, 1990 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2084 (US-K No. 64) | June 21, 1990 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M, false start because there was a mistake in the fourth stage and so a wrong orbit |
| Kosmos-2087 (US-K No. 65) | July 25, 1990 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2097 (US-K No. 66) | August 28, 1990 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2105 (US-K No. 67) | November 20, 1990 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2133 (US KMO No. 2) | February 14, 1991 | Baikonur 200/39 | Proton-K |
| Kosmos-2155 (US KMO No. 3) | September 13, 1991 | Baikonur 81/23 | Proton-K |
| Kosmos-2176 (US-K No. 68) | January 24, 1992 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2196 (US-K No. 69) | July 8, 1992 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2209 (US KMO No. 4) | September 10, 1992 | Baikonur 81/23 | Proton-K |
| Kosmos-2217 (US-K No. 70) | October 21, 1992 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2222 (US-K No. 71) | November 25, 1992 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2224 (US KMO No. 5) | 17th December 1992 | Baikonur 200/39 | Proton-K |
| Kosmos-2232 (US-K No. 72) | January 26, 1993 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2241 (US-K No. 73) | April 6, 1993 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2261 (US-K No. 74) | August 10, 1993 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2282 (US KMO No. 6) | July 6, 1994 | Baikonur 81/23 | Proton-K |
| Kosmos-2286 (US-K No. 75) | 5th August 1994 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2312 (US-K No. 76) | May 24, 1995 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2340 (US-K No. 77) | April 9, 1997 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2342 (US-K No. 78) | May 14, 1997 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2345 (US KMO No. 7) | August 14, 1997 | Baikonur 200/39 | Proton-K |
| Kosmos-2350 (US KMO No. 8) | April 29, 1998 | Baikonur 200/39 | Proton-K |
| Kosmos-2351 (US-K No. 79) | May 7, 1998 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2368 (US-K No. 80) | December 27, 1999 | Plesetsk 16 | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2379 (US KMO No. 9) | August 24, 2001 | Baikonur 81/24 | Proton-K |
| Kosmos-2388 (US-K No. 81) | April 1, 2002 | Plesetsk 16/2 | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2393 (US-K No. 82) | December 24, 2002 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2397 (US KMO No. 10) | April 24, 2003 | Baikonur 81/24 | Proton-K |
| Kosmos-2422 (US-K No. 83) | July 21, 2006 | Plesetsk 16/2 | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2430 (US-K No. 84) | October 23, 2007 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2440 (US KMO No. 11) | June 26, 2008 | Baikonur 81/24 | Proton-K |
| Kosmos-2446 (US-K No. 85) | December 2, 2008 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2469 (US-K No. 86) | September 30, 2010 | Plesetsk | Molnija-M |
| Kosmos-2479 (U.S. KMO No. 12) | March 30, 2012 | Baikonur 81/24 | Proton-K |
Web links
- Oko in the Encyclopedia Astronautica (English)
- Janes Defense: Oko Constellation ( Memento from December 14, 2008 in the Internet Archive ). raumfahrer.net, October 1, 2010
Footnotes
- ↑ Geoffrey Forden: False alarm on the Nuclear Front . (English)
- ↑ Warfare.ru: Oko (US-KS)
- ↑ a b Gunter's Space Page: US KMO
- ↑ RussianForces April 3, 2007: Early Warning Constellation
- ↑ Real Time Satellite Tracking: COSMOS 2422
- ↑ Cosmos-2469 might be the last HEO early-warning satellite . russianforces.org, September 30, 2010
- ^ New date set for new early warning satellite launch . russianforces.org, June 30, 2015
- ↑ The Orion: Molnija-M puts Russian military satellites into orbit ( Memento January 6, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on December 4, 2008
- ↑ Zarya: S-band allocation ( Memento from July 26, 2012 on WebCite )
- ↑ Russia launched the early warning satellite Kosmos 2469