Gonets

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Gonets
Organisation RKA (Until 1996)
Gonets SatCom (1996-Present)
Major contractors NPO Prikladnoi Mekhaniki ru:НПО ПМ
Mission type Communication
Carrier Rocket Tsyklon-3 (D & D1)
Kosmos-3M (One D1M)
Rokot (D1M)
Launch Site Plesetsk Cosmodrome
Mission duration 5 years
Webpage Gonets SatCom (Russian)
Mass 233kg (D1)
280kg (D1M)
Power 40 Watts from solar panels
Batteries Nickel/Hydrogen
Orbital elements
Regime LEO
Inclination 82.6°
Apoapsis 1414 kilometres
Periapsis 1400 kilometres
Instruments
Spectral Band UHF[1]
NATO B/D-band
Data Rate Up to 64kb/s

Gonets (Russian for Messenger) is a Russian civillian low Earth orbit communication satellite system. It consists of a number of satellites, derived from Strela military communication satellites. The first two satellites, which were used to test and validate the system, were launched by a Tsyklon-3 carrier rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on 13 July 1992[2], and were designated Gonets-D.[3] The first operational satellites, designated Gonets-D1, were launched on 19 February 1996[4]. After launch, the first three satellites were given military Kosmos designations, a practice which was not continued with the other satellites.[2]

Ten operational satellites and two demonstration spacecraft have been placed in orbit. A further three were lost in a launch failure on 27 December 2000. A new series of modernised Gonets satellites, Gonets-D1M, will supplement and eventually replace the satellites which are currently in orbit. A single D1M satellite was launched by a Kosmos-3M rocket on 21 December 2005.[5] Three satellites were launch aboard a Rokot carrier rocket on 23 May 2008.[6]

Gonets was originally a Russian Federal Space Agency programme, however in 1996 it was privatised, and it is now organised by Gonets SatCom.[7]

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[edit] References

  1. ^ GONETS (English). Small Satellites Home Page. Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  2. ^ a b Wade, Mark. Strela (English). Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  3. ^ Krebs, Gunter. Gonets-D (English). Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  4. ^ Krebs, Gunter. Gonets-D1 (English). Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  5. ^ Krebs, Gunter. Gonets-D1M (English). Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  6. ^ Russia launches relay craft, commemorative satellite. Spaceflight Now.
  7. ^ Leosat system "Gonets" (English). Gonets SatCom. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.