US-KMO

US-KMO
Manufacturer NPO Lavochkin
Country of origin  Soviet Union
 Russia
Operator VKS (1991–2011)
VKO (2011—)
Applications Early warning/Missile defence
Specifications
Bus GRAU: 71Kh6
Design life 5-7 years [1]
Launch mass 2600
Regime Geosynchronous
Production
Status Out of production
Launched 8
Operational 1
Retired 4
Failed 3
Lost 0
First launch Kosmos 2133
14 February 1991
Last launch Kosmos 2479
30 March 2012
Related spacecraft
Derived from US-KS

US-KMO (Russian: УС-КМО), [note 1] is a series of Russian, previously Soviet, satellites which are used to identify ballistic missile launches. They provide early warning of missile attack and give information for the Moscow A-135 anti-ballistic missile system. They were run by the Russian Space Forces and its successor the Aerospace Defence Forces.

These satellites are part of the Oko programme and are in geosynchronous orbit 35,750 km above the Earth's equator. This means that they are always in the same place with the same field of view. Western locations give Russia coverage of missile launches in the United States whereas more eastern ones give coverage of China and the Middle East.[2] They complement ground based early warning radars and the US-K satellites which are in molniya orbits.

The first prototype satellite was launched on 8 October 1975, atop a Proton-K/DM-2 carrier rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome. The most recent, and last of the series, was launched on 30 March 2012.[3] As of December 2015, the entire Oko programme is being replaced by the new EKS system.[4][5][6]

Technical information

US-KMO satellites were built by NPO Lavochkin. They feature a 1-metre diameter infrared telescope with a 4.5 metre hood which identifies missiles by their exhausts.[1] They have an operational life of 5 to 7 years, although actual performance has been variable.

The satellites have the GRAU index 71Kh6.

The Oko western control centre is at Serpukhov-15, Moscow Oblast [7] although Podvig notes [8] that satellites in the 3 eastern-most positions would be out of range of this centre, and would be controlled by the eastern control centre at Pivan-1, Khabarovsk Krai.[9]

Naming

24°W
12°E
35°E
80°E
130°E
166°E
159°W
Location of the seven satellite positions above the equator

These satellites have been mistakenly described as Prognoz (unrelated to the earlier Prognoz SO-M programme)[8] as the positions they occupy are reserved with the ITU under the codename Prognoz.[8][10]

Location Name [8] Longitude [8] Control Centre [8] Satellites [8]
Prognoz-1 24°W Serpukhov-15 Kosmos 2379 Kosmos 2282 Kosmos 2224 Kosmos 2133
Prognoz-2 12°E Serpukhov-15 Kosmos 2224 Kosmos 2133
Prognoz-3 35°E Serpukhov-15 Kosmos 2133
Prognoz-4 80°E Serpukhov-15 Kosmos 2379 Kosmos 2350 Kosmos 2133 Kosmos 2440 Kosmos 2479
Prognoz-5 130°E Pivan-1?
Prognoz-6 166°E Pivan-1?
Prognoz-7 159°W Pivan-1?

Satellites

Satellite COSPAR ID SATCAT No. Product Number[1] Launch Date Estimated End Date Estimated Operational Life
Kosmos 2133 1991-010A 21111 7120 14 February 1991 9 November 1995 [8]4 years 9 months
Kosmos 2224 1992-088A 22269 7121 17 December 1992 17 June 1999 [8]6 years 6 months
Kosmos 2282 1994-038A 23168 7123 6 July 1994 29 December 1995 [8]1 year 5 months
Kosmos 2350 1998-025A 25315 7122 29 April 1998 29 June 1998 [8]2 months
Kosmos 2379 2001-037A 26892 7124 24 August 2001 late 2009/early 2010 [2]8 years
Kosmos 2397 2003-015A 27775 7126 24 April 2003 June 2003 [11]2 months
Kosmos 2440 2008-033A 33108 7127 26 June 2008 February 2010 [12]1 year 4 months
Kosmos 2479 2012-012A 38101 30 March 2012

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ an abbreviation for Upravlyaemy Sputnik - Kontinenty Morya Okeany (Russian: Управляемый Спутник - Континенты Моря Океаны) meaning Controllable Satellite - Continents, Oceans, Seas

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Hartron-Arkos:Control Systems for Space and Ground Applications". Hartron-Arkos. n.d. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
  2. 1 2 Pavel, Podvig (2010-04-28). "Early warning system is down to three satellites". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
  3. ↑ Graham, William (2012-03-29). "Russian Proton-K completes 45 years of service with US-KMO satellite launch". NASA Spaceflight. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
  4. ↑ "Soyuz 2-1B launches EKS-1 to upgrade Russian Early Warning System". Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  5. ↑ Pavel, Podvig (2012-03-30). "Cosmos-2479 - new geostationary early warning satellite". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
  6. ↑ Christy, Robert (n.d.). "2012-012". Zarya. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
  7. ↑ Holm, Michael (2011). "916th independent Radio-Technical Unit". Soviet Armed Forces 1945-1991. Retrieved 2012-04-22.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Podvig, Pavel (2002). "History and the Current Status of the Russian Early-Warning System" (pdf). Science and Global Security. 10: 21–60. doi:10.1080/08929880212328. ISSN 0892-9882.
  9. ↑ Holm, Michael (2011). "1127th independent Radio-Technical Unit". Soviet Armed Forces 1945-1991. Retrieved 2012-04-22.
  10. ↑ Krebs, Gunther Dirk (2012-03-30). "US-KMO (71Kh6)". Gunther's Space Page. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
  11. ↑ Pavel, Podvig (2003-11-28). "Problems with Russian military satellites". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
  12. ↑ Pavel, Podvig (2012-09-02). "Only two satellites left in Russia's early-warning system". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
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