Russia's military spacecraft

A vast majority of the satellites the Soviet Union had launched between 1960 and 1990 carried military duties. Publicly, however, the USSR would deny the very existence of the military space program in the country. Not surprisingly, numerous military space projects have never been officially acknowledged until the last decade of the 20th century.

Most Russian military payloads reaching the orbit would be identified only as Cosmos satellites with particular numbers. Any civilian satellites, whose purpose the government would not want to explain, would also receive Cosmos names. It was up to independent observers and historians around the world to struggle with a puzzle of secret space programs. They based their analysis on a combination of available official data and satellite tracking information.

The post-Soviet Russia adopted somewhat "westernized" approach to information policy on military space: the military launches are identified as such and receive traditional Cosmos names.

During the 1990s, Russian military assets in orbit continuously degraded, as the Ministry of Defense could not afford to launch new spacecraft to replace aging and failing satellites. The situation started changing to the better in the first decade of the 21th century, as the Russian economy had improved. In the spring of 2006, President Vladimir Putin said that Russian military budget would increase by 20 percent in the coming year, while official media promised restoration of the Russian military satellite constellation by 2008.

IN THE UNIFORM: The overview of the unmanned military spacecraft developed in the former USSR:

Recent events:

Putin to split space and missile forces

Posted: 2001 Jan. 26

Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to separate military space units from their subordination to the Strategic Missile Forces, RVSN, sources in Moscow said. Putin announced his intention to restructure RVSN during a closed-door meeting of the security council this week. According to the Russian press, all space and space defense units of the Ministry of Defense will form a separate type of armed forces.

(Details inside)

2001 May 29, 21:55 Moscow Time (1:55 p.m. EDT): The Soyuz U rocket launched a military satellite, apparently the Yantar or Kobalt imaging spacecraft, from Plesetsk's Pad 4 at Site 43. According to official information from the Russian Strategic Missile Forces, the spacecraft successfully reached orbit at 22:04 Moscow Time. The payload announced as Cosmos-2377. In preparation for the launch, the Soyuz U rocket arrived to the launch pad on May 28 at 10:20 Moscow Time. (Energy supply problems in Plesetsk threatened to delay the launch);

According to the data from NORAD, the Cosmos-2377 entered 165 x 358-kilometer orbit with the inclination 67.1 degrees, which matches the orbit parameters for the Kobalt/Yantar-type satellites. (Data via Jonathan McDowell).

2001 June 8, 19:12 Moscow Time (11:12 p.m. EDT): The Cosmos-3M launcher returned to flight on Friday, June 8, with the successful launch of a military satellite. The two-stage rocket blasted off from Russia's Northern Cosmodrome in Plesetsk at 20:12 Moscow Time (12:12 p.m. EDT) on June 8, according to the Russian Space Forces. The spacecraft, announced as Cosmos-2378, successfully reached the orbit.

The parameters of its orbit (1,023 by 981 kilometers, inclination 82.9 degrees toward the Equator) suggest that the satellite belongs to the Tsyklon-B navigation and communications network, comprised of the Parus ("Sail") spacecraft. Russia's missile carrying submarines and surface battleships use the Parus spacecraft to determine their exact position in the open sea -- the information critical for the high-precision warfare.

2001 July 20: The Molniya-M rocket successfully delivered a Molniya-3K satellite, for military communications after the launch at 00:17 UTC from Pad 4 at Site 43 in in Plesetsk. The latest launch was earlier expected in June.

2001 Aug. 24: Proton rocket launched a military payload (Delayed 24 hours by technical problems);

2001 Oct. 6, 20:45 Moscow Time: The Proton launched a military satellite (apparently Raduga-1 comsat) from Baikonur;

2001 Oct. 25: Russian Space Forces launched a military communications satellite today from its Northern Cosmodrome in Plesetsk. A four-stage Molniya-M rocket blasted off from the Launch Pad 3 at Site 43 of the Cosmodrome at 15:34 Moscow Time (7:34 a.m. EDT) and ten minutes later successfully delivered Molniya (Lightning) spacecraft into the initial orbit.

The fourth stage of the launcher then expected to fire again to push the spacecraft into its final highly elliptical orbit with the inclination 62.8 degrees toward the Equator. The launch was previously scheduled for October 11.

2001 Dec. 1: The Proton-K rocket blasted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 21:04 Moscow Time (1:04 p.m. EST), carrying two standard Uragan ("Hurricane") spacecraft and a brand-new Uragan-M satellite for the GLONASS network -- the Russian equivalent of the US Global Positioning System, GPS.

The introduction of newer Uragan-M satellites promises to save the cost of operating the GLONASS network, thanks to the spacecraft’s longer operational lifetime.

As of November 27, only six Uragan satellites, launched last year and in 1998, were functioning in orbit.

2001 Dec. 21: After a two-day delay, a Ukrainian-built Tsyklon-2 booster successfully delivered a Russian electronic intelligence spacecraft on Friday.

A 182-ton two-stage rocket blasted off from Site 90 in Baikonur at 07:00 Moscow Time on December 21. The rocket was carrying the US-PU satellite built by KB Arsenal development center in St. Petersburg and designed to provide electronic intelligence and missile guidance information for the Russian Navy. The rocket successfully inserted the spacecraft into a transfer orbit with the apogee of 400 kilometers. The satellite, officially designated Cosmos-2383, was then expected to use its own propulsion system to reach a final orbit around 07:48 Moscow Time on December 21.

This was the first launch of the US-type spacecraft since December 1999 and the 104th launch of the Tsyklon-2 booster.

2001 Dec. 27 (EST): In the last space launch of 2001, a Ukrainian-built rocket delivered a sextet of communications satellites into orbit after an early-morning blastoff from Russia’s northern cosmodrome in Plesetsk.

The three-stage Tsyklon-3 booster took off from Launch Complex 32 in Plesetsk at 06:24 Moscow Time on December 28. The rocket was carrying six satellites, including three Gonets D1 (“Messenger”) spacecraft intended to replenish a low-orbital communications network. Remaining three satellites onboard the rocket belonged to the Russian Ministry of Defense and in an accordance with the standard practice for the military spacecraft were identified as Cosmos-2384, -2385 and -2386.

2002 Feb. 25: Russia launched its first space mission in 2002, delivering a secret satellite into low Earth orbit from Plesetsk. The Soyuz-U rocket blasted off from Russia’s northern launch facility at 20:26 Moscow Time, after a 2-hour-7-minute delay caused by technical problems. It was 1666th mission of the veteran rocket based on the R-7 ICBM.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov and Director of the Russian Aviation and Space Agency Yuri Koptev personally viewed the launch in Plesetsk.

Some nine minutes after the blastoff, the spacecraft, officially announced as Cosmos-2387, reached the orbit. The Cosmos-2387 apparently belongs to the Yantar family of imaging reconnaissance satellites, routinely launched from Plesetsk.

Total 10 launches are planned from Plesetsk during 2002, according to Russian space officials. Six space launches took place from the site, during 2001.

2002 April 2: Russian Space Forces launched a military satellite on Tuesday from their Northern Cosmodrome in Plesetsk. A four-stage Molniya-M rocket blasted off at 02:07 Moscow Time on April 2 and ten minutes later successfully delivered a classified military payload, most likely Oko-type early-warning satellite, to the initial Earth orbit.

The upper stage of the launch vehicle then expected to maneuver the satellite into highly elliptical orbit. This was 220th launch for the Molniya-M booster, which was apparently delayed several times in the past few weeks.

Lubov Kudelina, Deputy Minister of Defense and Anatoly Perminov, Chief Commander of Russian Space Forces, KVR, personally attended the launch in Plesetsk.

A major fire at Russia's military ground control center near Moscow last year is believed to be responsible for the loss of control over one or several satellites, providing early warning about missile attack for the Russian Ministry of Defense.

2002 May 28: The Cosmos-3M booster delivered a navigation satellite after the launch from Russia's northern cosmodrome in Plesetsk.

The payload, officially identified as Cosmos-2389, apparently belongs to the Tsikada series of navigation satellites.

2002 July 8: The Cosmos-3M booster delivered two classified satellites after a successful launch from Russia's northern cosmodrome in Plesetsk. The launch took place at 10:36 Moscow Time.

The payload was officially identified only as Cosmos-2390 and Cosmos-2391, however the Russian press reported that the spacecraft belong to the series of the Strela communications network, providing secret communications for the Russian authorities.

2002 July 25: The Proton booster launched a classified satellite from Site 81 in Baikonur Cosmodrome, officially announced as Cosmos-2392. The launch took place at 19:13 Moscow Time (11:13 a.m. EST). The spacecraft was expected to separate from the upper stage of the launch vehicle at 21:27 Moscow Time (1:27 p.m. EST), after reaching highly elliptical orbit around the Earth.

Statements made by the Russian space officials confirmed that the payload belonged to the Araks (Arkon) family of spacecraft developed by NPO Lavochkin. The company advertised the satellite as a dual-purpose system, designed for military and civilian observations of the Earth surface.

This was belived to be the second launch of the spacecraft of this type. The first Araks satellite was launched in June 1997.

2002 Nov. 28: The Cosmos-3M booster delivered Algerian and Russian satellites into a sun-synchronous orbit, after the launch from Russia's northern cosmodrome in Plesetsk.

A two-stage vehicle blasted off at 09:07 Moscow Time on Nov. 28, 2002, carrying AlSat-1 remote-sensing satellite for the Algerian government and the Mozhaets experimental satellite, designed for the training of the Russian military academy students.

According to the Russian Space Forces, both satellites successfully reached a 701 x 680-kilometer orbit.

2002 Dec. 24: Russian Space Forces launched a military satellite on Tuesday from their Northern Cosmodrome in Plesetsk. A four-stage Molniya-M rocket blasted off at 15:20 Moscow Time on December 24, 2002, and ten minutes later successfully delivered a classified military payload, officially identified as Cosmos-2393, to the initial Earth orbit. The spacecraft is most likely the Oko-type early-warning satellite.

The upper stage of the launch vehicle then maneuvered the satellite into highly elliptical orbit. According to official reports, the spacecraft separated from the upper stage of the launch vehicle at 16:23 Moscow Time on December 24, 2002. The satellite established contact with the ground control center at 17:05 Moscow Time.

A major fire at Russia's military ground control center near Moscow in 2001 is believed to be responsible for the loss of control over one or several satellites, providing early warning about missile attack for the Russian Ministry of Defense.

2002 Dec. 25: The Proton-K rocket blasted off from Pad 23 at Site 81 in Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 10:37 Moscow Time, carrying three Uragan-M ("Hurricane") spacecraft for the GLONASS network -- the Russian equivalent of the US Global Positioning System, GPS.

According to the official reports, the payload successfully reached the initial parking orbit at 10:48 Moscow Time. After additional maneuvers, trio of 1,425-kilogram satellites were to separate from the upper stage of the launch vehicle in their final orbit between 14:35 and 15:11 Moscow Time.

This was the first launch of the Proton rocket with the Block DM upper stage, after similar vehicle failed to deliver a commercial communications satellite into its final orbit on Nov. 26, 2002.

2003 April 2: Russia launched a communications satellite to be used by the country’s armed forces.