Launch News Gonets-M, Strela-3, and Rodnik (C-2467,68) atop Rokot/Briz-KM on September 7/8, 2010

[SiberianTiger]

Launch site: Plesetsk Launch pad no. 133/3 62°53'13.35"N, 40°50'48.30"E
Launch date: September 7/8, 2010

The launch time is:
7:30:00 Moscow Summer 08.09.2010
3:30:00 UTC September 8, 2010
11:30:00 p.m. EDT September 7, 2010


[eventTimer]2010-09-08 3:30:00?before|after;%dd% Days %hh% Hours %mm% Minutes %ss% Seconds %c%[/eventTimer] satellite triplet launch on Rokot

Payload: One Gonets-M communications satellite and Possibly 2 Rodnik military comms satellites

Spacecraft 1: Gonets-M (meaning Courier, Staffette) System #12

Manufacturer: JSC "Information Satellite Systems Reshetnev Company"

Operator: Gonets SatCom (http://www.gonets.ru/english.php)

Gonets SatCom is a telecommunications company operating in russian market for over 8 years as a unique data relay service provider which designs builds and operates a Russian LEO system Gonets.

Gonets LEO (Low-Earth Orbiting) System is global data relay system comprised of LEO satellites, low-cost gateway stations and a fleet of highly portable subscriber terminals.
Applications

- Corporate networks for industry and government use
- Asset management (position reporting and tracking of movable and fixed objects)
- Environmental monitoring, geodesy, hydrogy, meterology, etc data gathering
- Control of electric grid, oil-wells, pipe-lines, etc
- Remote, disaster-stricken, isolated area communications

The current system ground infrastructure includes NCC/TT&C in Moscow, three Gateway Stations in Moscow, Krasnoyarsk (Syberia) and Sakhalin (Far East), reional SCC in Alma-Aty (Kazakhstan). Another relay station is being deployed in Murmansk (Far North).

Watch the video presentation of Gonets SatCom displaying the spacecraft in detail and explaining how the system works (although the narration is in Russian):

Gonets-M is a current generation spacecraft, replacing older Gonets-D1 design.

Comparison table:

Performance|Gonets-D1|Gonets-M
Mass, kg|240|270
Uplink/Downlink channels|1/1|16/2
Onboard memory, Mb|1.5|8
Electric Power, W|120|?
Service Life, years|1.5-2|5-7
Can adjust orbit|no|yes

The Constellation:

Orbit height|1400 km
Inclination|82.5°
Orbital Period|113 min
One satellite covers a circular zone with diameter|5000 km

Currently the constellation consists of 9 satellites. The completely deployed constellation must comprise 45 satellites. Every of the 5 orbital planes separated by 36° shall house 9 satellites.


Spacecraft 2,3: Rodnik (meaning Creek)

Manufacturer: JSC "Information Satellite Systems Reshetnev Company"

Less is publicly known about the Gonets' military counterpart. Rodnik is probably an improved version of the Strela-3 military communication satellites. The spacecraft had a cylindrical body with a gravity-gradient boom, which was extended on-orbit to provide passive attitude stabilization. These satellites had a single simultaneous earth-space and space-earth channel.

Spacecraft mass: 225 kg

Typical Operating Orbit: 1400 km x 1414 km, 82.6°

Launch vehicle: Rokot (meaning Rumble)

Manufacturer: Khrunichev State Research And Production Space Centre, Moscow

The Rockot lightweight launch vehicle designed subject to Governmental Decree 925-r consists of three stages. The first two stages are essentially the booster stack of the RS 18 (or, equivalently, SS 19 Stiletto) strategic missile and the Breeze KM is employed as the third stage. A payload fairing has been designed for this launcher to accommodate one or more spacecraft in addition to Breeze KM.

Rockot has a good performance largely due two the Breeze KM upper stage having broad capabilities as far as injection of spacecraft into orbits with different altitudes and/or inclinations is concerned. The Breeze KM equipment can control the spacecraft attitude to a high precision and supply spacecraft with enough power during both ascent and orbital flight lasting up to 7 hrs. A special-purpose system can separate the spacecraft and the upper stage with the minimum possible disturbances.

Rockot Performance

Items|Specs
LV configuration|Three stages Stages 1 & 2: based on SS 19 (RS 18) ICBM booosters Stage 3: Breeze KM upper stage
Lift-off mass (kg)|107,500
Payload parking orbit mass (kg) ( H circ = 200 km , i = 63 ° )|1950 (Breeze KM) 2300 (Breeze KC)
Injection error by Orbit height (%)|+ 1 to 2
Injection error by Inclination (%)|+ 0.03 to 0.05
Payload Fairing diameter/length (m)|2.5 x 2.62 / 6.74
Starting date of flight tests|May 2000 (3 successful missions of close prototypes performed in 1990-1994)

Types/quantities/thrust values (sea level/vacuum) of engines

Descriptions|Values
- Stage 1|15D95 liquid engines/3 ea. + 15D96 /1 ea. / (180,000 kgf / 212,700 kgf)
- Stage 2|15D113 liquid engine /1 ea./ (- / 23,980 kgf) (main) 15D114 liquid engine/(- /1580 kgf) (steering)
- Stage 3|S5.98 liquid engine /1 ea./(-/2000 kgf) (main) 11D458 liquid engines /4 ea./ 40 kgf (vernier) 17D58E liquid engines /12 ea. /1.3 kgf (attitude control and stabilization)

The vehicle's reliability statistics according to http://www.spacelaunchreport.com/reliability2010.txt:

================================================================ 
Vehicle     Successes/Tries Realzd Pred  Consc. Last     Dates    
                             Rate  Rate* Succes Fail    
================================================================ 
Rokot/Briz/K(M)  13    14    .93  .88      6    10/8/05  1994-

Launch Complex

The launch will be performed off LC 3 at site 133.

Weather forecast for Plesetsk, Russia on September 8, 2010

Hi: 11°
Lo: 7°
Scattered showers. There is a 40% chance of precipitation. Cloudy. Mild. Temperature of 11°C. Winds WNW 13km/h. Humidity will be 94% with a dewpoint of 11° and feels-like temperature of 11°C.


Sunrise/Sunset and associated twilight times for Plesetsk on Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Times are local.

Event|Time
Astronomical twilight begins|03:19
Nautical twilight begins|04:38
Civil twilight begins|05:39
Sunrise|06:24
Transit (sun is at its highest)|13:17
Sunset|20:09
Civil twilight ends|20:55
Nautical twilight ends|21:56
Astronomical twilight ends|23:15

Watching the launch live

Not available this time, sorry.

References
http://www.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com
http://www.gonets.ru/
http://ru.wikipedia.org/
http://www.iss-reshetnev.ru/
http://www.niitp.ru/
http://www.eurockot.com
http://www.plesetzk.ru
http://www.spacelaunchreport.com
http://weatherbug.com
http://www.good-stuff.co.uk/suntimes/sunmap.php

 

[orb]

There's O-F's calendar event for this launch with timer, and a function to request e-mail reminder before the event.


Those other 2 payloads are named Kosmos on NASASpaceFlight's forum.

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

Thanks for your amazing launch info, ST!

I'm moving this here from the Roscosmos News thread:
RIA Novosti: "Russian Rokot carrier rocket to orbit Gonets-M satellite on September 8".

 

[SiberianTiger]

Those other 2 payloads are named Kosmos on NASASpaceFlight's forum.

All Russian military satellites receive Kosmos (or Cosmos, if you like it this way) designations. Naturally, the two military payloads will be Kosmos-2467 and Kosmos-2468 (because the previously launched Glonass sats had Kosmos numbers 2464, 2465, and 2466) - but I've made a guess of what type of satellite they might really be. My own guess they are Rodnik satellites.

So in total, we still have 3 payloads for this launch.

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

Roscosmos PAO: "Rocket/Gonets-M to be Launched on September 8".

Rockot launcher undergoes processing for the lift off from Plesetsk with Gonets-M spacecraft aboard in early September.
On September 1, the LVs upper composite was delivered to the launch pad and integrated with the Rockot boosters.
Electrical tests of the stack were performed on Tuesday.
The launch is slated for Sept. 8.
Gonets-M spacecraft maintain digital data transfer, GLONASS positioning data, as well as e-mail services, RIA Novosti informs.

 

[orb]

NASASpaceFlight: Russian Rockot launches with Gonets-M and two Kosmos satellites:

A Russian Rockot launch vehicle has lifted-off from the Plesetsk space center in northern Russia, carrying the Gonets-M (No. 2) satellite – part of the Russian GLONASS satellite navigation system, and two Kosmos satellites. Launch took place at 03:30 UTC (07:30 Moscow time) on Wednesday.
...

---------- Post added at 14:46 ---------- Previous post was at 11:39 ----------

Spaceflight Now: Rockot hauls three Russian satellites into space:

Three small communications satellite blasted off Wednesday from northern Russia into low Earth orbit on a converted ballistic missile.

The 95-foot-tall Rockot launcher lifted off at 0330 GMT Wednesday (11:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday) from Complex 133 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome about 500 miles north of Moscow.

...

Spacecraft separation was scheduled for 0514 GMT (1:14 a.m. EDT), according to the Novosti news agency.

It was the 14th flight of the space-rated Rockot vehicle, which also launches international commercial and research satellites.

The rocket was carrying three satellites for the Russian government, including the second civilian Gonets M communications spacecraft designed to store and relay personal messages.

Gonets satellites are built by Information Satellite Systems Reshetnev Co.

The 617-pound satellite was joined by two Russian military payloads. Russia did not disclose the identity of the other payloads, but they are likely Strela communications satellites, military variants of the Gonets system.
...

 

[SiberianTiger]

Video of the launch is available at top of the page by the link: http://tv-zvezda.ru/news/russia/content/s_kosmodroma_plesetsk_uspeshno_0809.html

Among other things, the reporter said that in the nearest 5 years 12 more Gonets satellites shall be delivered to orbit by Rokot orbits.

I think it's a good idea to have this vid posted onto youtube for perpetual availability.

 

[SiberianTiger]

According to a letter published at website of an insurance company, the three launched satellites were one 17F13 (internal index of Strela-3 type satellite), one 14F132 (a Rodnik type satellite) and one Gonets-M.