Third orbital launch in a week : Russian Angara-1.2 launches mysterious military satellite
By KASA
Overview
Russia launched a small military satellite on Saturday (Oct. 15), pulling off its third orbital mission in less than a week.
Angara ( rocket family )
Angara-1.2 and Angara A5
The Angara rocket family[1] (Russian: Ангара) is a family of launch vehicles being developed by the Moscow-based Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center. The launch vehicles are to put between 3,800 kg (8,400 lb) and 24,500 kg (54,000 lb) into low Earth orbit and are intended, along with Soyuz-2 variants, to replace several existing launch vehicles.
Kosmos ( satellite )
Kosmos[2] (Russian: Ко́смос, IPA: [ˈkosməs] , meaning “( outer ) space ” or ” Kosmos “) is a designation given to many satellites operated by the Soviet Union and subsequently Russia. Kosmos 1, the first spacecraft to be given a Kosmos designation, was launched on 16 March 1962.
Detail
Angara-1.2 in motion
“At the estimated time, the spacecraft was launched into the target orbit and accepted for control of ground facilities of the Russian Ministry of Defense. The spacecraft was assigned the serial number Kosmos-2560,” Roscosmos wrote in the telegram[3] update( opens in new tab ), accordng to a Google translation. “A stable telemetry connection has been established and maintained with the spacecraft, its onboard systems are operating in the normal mode.”
The roughly 330-pound (150 kilograms) EMKA-3 is headed for a sun-synchronous orbit about 190 miles (300 kilometers) above Earth, according to EverydayAstronaut.com. It’s unclear what the spacecraft will be doing up there.
“Not much is known about this payload, due to its military and secret purpose,” EverydayAstronaut.com wrote in a mission description(opens in new tab). “The EMKA series of satellites are thought to be optical reconnaissance spacecraft.”
References:
[1]Angara (rocket family) – Wikipedia
