Russian Space Program: News & Discussion #4

ROSCOSMOS is preparing to launch a remote sensing radar satellite, Kondor-FKA No.1, on a Soyuz 2.1a launch vehicle featuring a Fregat-M upper stage. It will launch from Vostochny Cosmodrome, in Far East Russia.

The Kondor satellite (designed by NPO Mashinostroyeniya) is equipped with an S-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) capable of performing continuous swath surveys or detailed spot surveys. It has a swath width of 10 km. In spotlight mode, the ground resolution ranges from 1 to 2 m, while in stripmap mode, it is 1 to 3 m, and in ScanSAR mode, it varies from 5 to 30 m.

ROSCOSMOS reported that this satellite will enhance the capabilities of Russia for all-weather and round-the-clock monitoring of the Earth, including the Russian Arctic. This is critical for tracking the thickness of ice along the entire Northern Sea Route. The second Kondor-FKA satellite is scheduled to launch in 2024, and two more satellites are planned to be launched in 2029-2030. Additionally, an improved version called Kondor-FKA-M is being developed, with a launch expected to occur after 2030.

MOSCOW, May 30. /TASS/. For the first time in the history of domestic cosmonautics, Russia has deployed a full constellation of hydrometeorological satellites in geostationary orbit (GSO). This was announced on Tuesday in Roskosmos.

"Geostationary hydrometeorological spacecraft "Electro-L" No. 4, created by the enterprises of the state corporation "Roscosmos", after completion of tests in orbit, began to be used for its intended purpose. "consisting of three satellites," the message says.

Hydrometeorological satellites "Electro-L", while in geostationary orbit, make it possible to obtain and process multispectral images of cloudiness and the underlying earth's surface of the entire observed disk of the Earth, receive hydrometeorological data in orbit, perform telecommunication functions in terms of distribution, exchange of hydrometeorological and heliogeophysical data, as well as relay signals from emergency beacons of the Cospas-Sarsat system.

The first Elektro-L satellite was launched in January 2011; in October 2016, communication with it was lost. Elektro-L No. 2 went into orbit in 2015, and No. 3 in 2019. They continue to work at the moment.