Tag: Kosmos
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Russia launches classified payload from Plesetsk on Soyuz-2.1v
At 19:57 UTC on Wednesday, March 29, Russia’s Soyuz-2.1v rocket launched from Site 43/4 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, carrying an unknown payload designated Kosmos-2568 to a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). The identity of the payload is unknown, but it may be another inspector satellite, similar to one flown on a previous Soyuz-2.1v launch. If Kosmos-2568 is…
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Russia’s Soyuz-2.1a launches Bars-M reconnaissance satellite
Making its first military launch since November, Russia’s Soyuz-2.1a rocket has deployed Kosmos 2567 – likely a Bars-M reconnaissance satellite – into Sun-synchronous orbit. Soyuz lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome at 9:40 AM Moscow Time (06:40 UTC), taking around ten minutes to complete its mission. As is typical for Russian military launches, few details…
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Soyuz-2.1b launches from Plesetsk carrying Lotos-S satellite
A Russian Soyuz-2.1b rocket was launched from Site 43/4 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on Dec. 1 at 12:10 AM Moscow time (21:10 UTC on Nov. 30). Onboard was likely a Lotos-S electronic intelligence satellite for the Russian military. There is a possibility that additional payloads are to be deployed by the primary satellite later, based…
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Russia launches Tundra missile warning satellite from Plesetsk
At 06:48 UTC on Nov. 2, Russia’s Soyuz-2.1b launched from Site 43/4 at Plesetsk Cosmodrome, carrying the sixth satellite of Russia’s next-generation early warning system. Upon reaching orbit, the spacecraft was designated as Kosmos-2563. The Tundra series of satellites, also known as Kupol or Edinaya Kosmicheskaya Sistema (EKS) satellites, is the next generation of Russian…
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Soyuz-2.1v launches satellite pair after multi-day delay
At 19:20 UTC on Oct. 21, Russia’s Soyuz-2.1v rocket launched from Site 43/4 at Plesetsk Cosmodrome, carrying a classified payload to a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). The mission was originally scheduled for launch on Oct. 18 but was delayed three days for unspecified reasons. On board Soyuz-2.1v was a pair of satellites named Kosmos-2561 and Kosmos-2562,…
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Russian Soyuz rocket delivers military intelligence-gathering satellite into orbit
A Soyuz-2.1b rocket takes off Feb. 2 with a Lotos military intelligence-gathering satellite. Credit: Russian Ministry of Defense Russia sent a spy satellite into orbit aboard a Soyuz rocket Feb. 2 from a snowy launch pad at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, setting off on a mission to detect, locate, and characterize foreign military radio signals. The…
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Russia launches space surveillance satellite
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated Nov. 26 with video and orbital elements. A modified Soyuz rocket delivered a top secret Russian military payload into orbit Monday from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia, according to the country’s defense ministry. The mission lifted off from the Site 43 launch complex at Plesetsk at 1752 GMT (12:52 p.m. EST;…
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Rockot launches Russian military satellites
Rockot lifts off Friday with three Rodnik satellites. Credit: Khrunichev A Rockot booster and Breeze upper stage delivered three Russian military communications satellites to orbit Friday after a launch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome around 500 miles (800 kilometers) north of Moscow. The 95-foot-tall (29-meter) rocket fired out of a launcher tube at 0227 GMT Friday…
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Secret Russian satellite launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome
A modified version of Russia’s Soyuz rocket launched Friday from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, a spaceport on the edge of the Russian Arctic, with a military satellite whose mission is shrouded in mystery. The Soyuz 2-1v rocket lifted off at 1804 GMT (3:04 p.m. EDT; 9:04 p.m. Moscow time) from Pad 4 at Site 43 at…
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First satellite launched for Russia’s new missile warning network
Russia launched an early warning satellite Tuesday, deploying the first in a new fleet of military satellites to detect missile launches heading for Russian territory. The secretive payload blasted off at 0634 GMT (1:34 a.m. EST) aboard a Soyuz rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, a military facility in northern Russia’s Arkhangelsk region, according to a…