Cosmic Penguin
Geek Penguin in GTO
Well this is not exactly a high-profile launch, but I'm noting it anyway....
The sixth satellite of the Russian military and government use Meridian series, the heir to the very long-running Molniya series of high inclination communication satellites, will be launched today from the Plesetsk cosmodrome on a Soyuz-2/Fregat rocket into the famous Molniya orbit (63.4 deg. inclination, 1000 x 40000 km orbit) to continue the replacement of the old satellites of the United System of Satellite Communications 2nd generation (USSC-2).
This flight will most probably fill in the gap left by Meridian 5, which, as you may recall, was lost in the launch failure of a Soyuz 2-1b rocket in December 2011. After the accident (apparently caused by pipe leakage in the helium pressurization system of the third stage RD-0124 engine), the Russian Space Armed Forces decided to switch the launch vehicle back to the 2-1a version with the tried-and-true RD-0110 engine.
This will be the third launch of the year from the Plesetsk cosmodrome, which may see a sudden upsurge in launches in the next few weeks, with 1 Rockot and 2 more Soyuz launches by the end of 2012!
Launch location:
Plesetsk Launch pad no. 43/4 62°55'44.06"N, 40°27'24.71"E
Launch dates and times:
[table="head"]{colsp=5}Launch times
Time Zone|Australia - Sydney/AEST|Moscow / MSKS (UTC+4)/|Universal / UTC|Washington / EDT
Launch time:|21:42:46|15:42:46|11:42:46|06:42:46
on:|November 14, 2012|November 14, 2012|November 14, 2012|November 14, 2012
{colsp=5}[highlight][eventTimer]2012-11-14 11:42:46?before|after;%dd% Days %hh% Hours %mm% Minutes %ss% Seconds %c%[/eventTimer] Meridian #6 Launch[/highlight][/table]
Live Coverage Of The Launch:
None available, though the Russian news channels usually send their reporters to there for making a 2-3 minute news report about the launch later in the day, so wait for tomorrow for launch video on Youtube!
PAYLOAD
Meridian #6 (14F112) navigation satellite.
Spacecraft Overview
According to unofficial postings on the web, the Meridian satellite is equipped with a pressurized service module and a three-axis attitude control system. Some of the systems, including onboard flight control computer and propulsion might be similar to those developed for the Uragan-M navigation satellite. The spacecraft also sports solar panels capable of rotating themselves toward the sun, along a single axis.
Both, Uragan and Meridian satellites were developed at NPO PM in Zheleznogorsk, where the latter project apparently originated back in 1978. NPO PM developed absolute majority of Russian spacecraft for telecommunications and navigation, both military and civilian.
As with Uragan satellites, the production of operational Meridian satellites was apparently subcontracted to PO Polyot in the city of Omsk. During several aerospace exhibitions in Russia circa 2001, the organization released a photo of a satellite, which was advertised as “new” Molniya, which is a communications satellite, operating in the highly elliptical orbit.
Meridian satellites reside in Molniya orbits (900 km x 39000 km; 65°)
On November 14, 2012 the sixth Meridian will be launched.
[table="head"]Characteristics|
[/table]
Launch Vehicle:
[table="head"]{colsp=2}Characteristics
|[table="head"]{colsp=2}
[/table]
[/table]
Meridian Ascent Profile
The Soyuz rocket will launch eastwards from Plesetsk and deliver the upper composite into a suborbital trajectory with the apogee of 204 kilometers and the perigee of eight kilometers. 60 seconds after separation from the third stage, the Fregat upper stage fires for the first time, entering the initial circular orbit with the altitude of 203 kilometers. 49.5 minutes after the launch, the Fregat's engine fires again for 10.5 minutes, stretching the orbit into a 290 by 39,500-kilometers ellipse. The satellite and its upper stage then coast to the high point of the orbit, where some seven hours after the launch, the Fregat fires for 15 seconds, rising perigee to 1,000 kilometers. The Meridian satellite and the Fregat upper stage then separate.
Approximate Ground Track Plot
Western part (Northern European Russia):
Eastern part (Western Siberian Russia):
It's noticeable that many Siberian towns have a good contrail viewing opportunity after sunset this Wednesday.
Weather forecast for Plesetsk, Russia on November 14, 2012 (3 p.m.)
Overcast with snow. High of -1C with a windchill as low as -8C. Breezy. Winds from the West at 15 to 20 km/h. Chance of snow 80% with accumulations up to 4 cm possible.
References
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com
http://www.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru
http://space.skyrocket.de
http://www.spacelaunchreport.com
http://www.russianspaceweb.com
http://npopm.ru
http://www.samspace.ru
http://www.laspace.ru
http://www.geomidpoint.com/destination/
http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/calculators
http://wap.marsian.borda.ru/?1-3-30-00000001-000-0-0-1171904149
http://english.wunderground.com/cgi...recast?query=62.13333130,39.33333206&sp=22749
The sixth satellite of the Russian military and government use Meridian series, the heir to the very long-running Molniya series of high inclination communication satellites, will be launched today from the Plesetsk cosmodrome on a Soyuz-2/Fregat rocket into the famous Molniya orbit (63.4 deg. inclination, 1000 x 40000 km orbit) to continue the replacement of the old satellites of the United System of Satellite Communications 2nd generation (USSC-2).
This flight will most probably fill in the gap left by Meridian 5, which, as you may recall, was lost in the launch failure of a Soyuz 2-1b rocket in December 2011. After the accident (apparently caused by pipe leakage in the helium pressurization system of the third stage RD-0124 engine), the Russian Space Armed Forces decided to switch the launch vehicle back to the 2-1a version with the tried-and-true RD-0110 engine.
This will be the third launch of the year from the Plesetsk cosmodrome, which may see a sudden upsurge in launches in the next few weeks, with 1 Rockot and 2 more Soyuz launches by the end of 2012!
Launch location:
Plesetsk Launch pad no. 43/4 62°55'44.06"N, 40°27'24.71"E
Launch dates and times:
[table="head"]{colsp=5}Launch times
Time Zone|Australia - Sydney/AEST|Moscow / MSKS (UTC+4)/|Universal / UTC|Washington / EDT
Launch time:|21:42:46|15:42:46|11:42:46|06:42:46
on:|November 14, 2012|November 14, 2012|November 14, 2012|November 14, 2012
{colsp=5}[highlight][eventTimer]2012-11-14 11:42:46?before|after;%dd% Days %hh% Hours %mm% Minutes %ss% Seconds %c%[/eventTimer] Meridian #6 Launch[/highlight][/table]
Live Coverage Of The Launch:
None available, though the Russian news channels usually send their reporters to there for making a 2-3 minute news report about the launch later in the day, so wait for tomorrow for launch video on Youtube!
PAYLOAD
Meridian #6 (14F112) navigation satellite.
Spacecraft Overview
According to unofficial postings on the web, the Meridian satellite is equipped with a pressurized service module and a three-axis attitude control system. Some of the systems, including onboard flight control computer and propulsion might be similar to those developed for the Uragan-M navigation satellite. The spacecraft also sports solar panels capable of rotating themselves toward the sun, along a single axis.
Both, Uragan and Meridian satellites were developed at NPO PM in Zheleznogorsk, where the latter project apparently originated back in 1978. NPO PM developed absolute majority of Russian spacecraft for telecommunications and navigation, both military and civilian.
As with Uragan satellites, the production of operational Meridian satellites was apparently subcontracted to PO Polyot in the city of Omsk. During several aerospace exhibitions in Russia circa 2001, the organization released a photo of a satellite, which was advertised as “new” Molniya, which is a communications satellite, operating in the highly elliptical orbit.
Meridian satellites reside in Molniya orbits (900 km x 39000 km; 65°)
On November 14, 2012 the sixth Meridian will be launched.
[table="head"]Characteristics|
Meridian
Parts diagram:
|
Customer:
|- Russian MoD.
Prime contractor:
|- JSC "Information Satellite Systems Reshetnev Company"
Platform:
|- Uragan-M (?)
Mass at Separation:
|- ?
Dry Mass:
|- ?
Stabilization:
|- 3 axis stabilized
Dimensions:
|- ?
Batteries:
|- ?
Life time:
|- 7 years
Communication Payload:
|Believed to have three high-gain transponders. Another reported payload is low-channel Pritsep duplex communucation payload for navy users, which uses a centimetre-range wavelength.[/table]
Launch Vehicle:
[table="head"]{colsp=2}Characteristics
Soyuz-2.1a
Prime contractor:
|- Samara Space Sentre (Energia Holding enterprise)
GRAU Index:
|- 14A14
Height:
| 51.1 mDiameter:
| max 10.3 mLiftoff mass:
| 313 metric tonnesPayload mass:
| up to 6830 kg (a launch to LEO from Plesetsk)1st stage (boosters B, V, G, D):
|- 4 X RD-107 engines
- Propellants (T-1 Kerosene and LOX)
- Thrust/ISP in vacuum - / 320.2 s
- Thrust/ISP at sea level 85.6 tonnes / 263.3 s
2nd stage (core A):
|- 1 X RD-108 engine
- Propellants (T-1 Kerosene and LOX)
- Thrust/ISP in vacuum 94 tonnes / 320.6 s
- Thrust/ISP at sea level 80.8 tonnes / 257.7 s
3rd stage (block I):
|- 1 X RD-0110 engine
- Propellants (T-1 Kerosene and LOX)
- Thrust/ISP in vacuum 30.38 tonnes / 326 s
Upper Stage:
|
- GRAU Index: -
- Common Name: Fregat (meaning Frigate)
- Designer & Manufacturer: Lavochkin Association (NPO)
- Dimensions: Length 2.4 m, Diameter (max) 3.350 m
- Empty Mass 930 kg
- Propellants 5250 kg max
- Main Engine: 1 X S5.92
- Thrust in vacuum 2.0 tonnes of force (full power)
- Thrust in vacuum 1.4 tonnes of force (small power)
- ISP 333.2 s
Payload Fairing:
|- Diameter 3.7 m
- Length 7.7 m
[/table]
[/table]
Meridian Ascent Profile
The Soyuz rocket will launch eastwards from Plesetsk and deliver the upper composite into a suborbital trajectory with the apogee of 204 kilometers and the perigee of eight kilometers. 60 seconds after separation from the third stage, the Fregat upper stage fires for the first time, entering the initial circular orbit with the altitude of 203 kilometers. 49.5 minutes after the launch, the Fregat's engine fires again for 10.5 minutes, stretching the orbit into a 290 by 39,500-kilometers ellipse. The satellite and its upper stage then coast to the high point of the orbit, where some seven hours after the launch, the Fregat fires for 15 seconds, rising perigee to 1,000 kilometers. The Meridian satellite and the Fregat upper stage then separate.
Approximate Ground Track Plot
Western part (Northern European Russia):
Eastern part (Western Siberian Russia):
It's noticeable that many Siberian towns have a good contrail viewing opportunity after sunset this Wednesday.
Weather forecast for Plesetsk, Russia on November 14, 2012 (3 p.m.)
Overcast with snow. High of -1C with a windchill as low as -8C. Breezy. Winds from the West at 15 to 20 km/h. Chance of snow 80% with accumulations up to 4 cm possible.
References
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com
http://www.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru
http://space.skyrocket.de
http://www.spacelaunchreport.com
http://www.russianspaceweb.com
http://npopm.ru
http://www.samspace.ru
http://www.laspace.ru
http://www.geomidpoint.com/destination/
http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/calculators
http://wap.marsian.borda.ru/?1-3-30-00000001-000-0-0-1171904149
http://english.wunderground.com/cgi...recast?query=62.13333130,39.33333206&sp=22749
