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Soyuz launches a military mission

A Soyuz-2-1a rocket launched a classified payload from the Plesetsk, north of Moscow, on Oct. 31, 2024, which is believed to be the sixth satellite in the Bars-M series of cartographic satellites.

Previous Bars-M launch: 2023 Dec. 21


liftoff

Soyuz rocket mission on Oct. 31, 2024, at a glance:

Spacecraft designation
Kosmos-2579 (Bars-M 14F148 No. 6)
Launch date and time
2024 Oct. 31, 10:51:31 Moscow Time
Launch vehicle
Payload fairing
17S13A
Launch site
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In October 2024, Russian authorities issued a warning to air and sea traffic about an upcoming rocket launch between Oct. 31 and Nov. 2024.

It restricted several areas off the Russian Northern coast for impact of rocket components, which matched the ascent trajectory to an orbit with an inclination around 97 degrees toward the Equator.

On Oct. 31, 2024, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that a Soyuz-2-1a rocket had lifted off from Plesetsk at 10:51 Moscow Time (3:51 a.m. EST, 07:51 UTC) and successfully delivered a military satellite.

The official statement from the Ministry of Defense said that the spacecraft had been successfully inserted into its planned orbit and that it had been taken under control by ground assets of the Russian Air and Space Forces, VKS.

Insertion

The expected ground track of the ascent trajectory for Soyuz rocket during launch on Oct 31, 2024.


According to the tracking information from the US Space Force, the payload was inserted into a 338 by 498-kilometers sun-synchronous orbit with an inclination of 97.6 degrees toward the Equator, which matched orbital parameters of Bars-M cartographic satellites. The rocket's third stage was in a similar orbit:

ID
NORAD ID
Orbital period
Inclination
Perigee
Apogee
2024-197A
61730
92.95 minutes
97.5693 degrees
338.440 kilometers
497.930 kilometers
2024-197B
61731
92.92 minutes
97.5656 degrees
337.879 kilometers
492.766 kilometers

It was indirectly confirmed by RKTs Progress, the prime developer of the Bars-M series, who had updated its public count of its orbited satellites to 1,001 within hours after the launch.

 

The article, graphics and illustrations by Anatoly Zak; Last update: October 31, 2024

Page editor: Alain Chabot

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Bars-M

Bars-M in orbit.