Mission type Weather COSPAR ID 2011-001A Mission duration 10 years Inclination 0.68° Period 24 hours Rocket Zenit-3F | Operator Roskosmos SATCAT no. 37344 Bus Navigator Inclination 0.68° Launch date 20 January 2011 Launch site Baikonur Cosmodrome | |
Similar PSSC‑2, Explorer‑1 [Prime], Luch 5A, Progress M‑11M, AubieSat‑1 | ||
Elektro-L No.1 (Russian: Электро-L), also known as Geostationary Operational Meteorological Satellite No.2 or GOMS No.2, is a Russian geostationary weather satellite which was launched in 2011. The first Elektro-L spacecraft to fly, it became the first Russian geostationary weather satellite to be launched since Elektro No.1 in 1994.
Contents
Spacecraft
Elektro-L No.1 is the first of two Elektro-L satellites to be launched. It was manufactured by NPO Lavochkin, based on the Navigator satellite bus, and had a mass at launch of 1,740 kilograms (3,840 lb). Designed to operate for ten years, the satellite is positioned over the Indian Ocean at a longitude of 76 degrees east.
The MSU-GS scanner is the primary instrument aboard the spacecraft. It is designed to produce visible light and infrared images of a full disc of the Earth. It can produce an image every half-hour, with the visible light images having a resolution of one kilometre, and the infrared images having a resolution of four kilometres. The satellite also carries GGAK-E, a heliophysics payload designed to study radiation from the Sun. The satellite will also be used to relay data between Russian weather stations, and will also be used to relay signals as part of the Cospas-Sarsat system. It carries seven infrared channels and three visible channels.
Launch
The launch of Elektro–L No.1 took place at 12:29 UTC on 20 January 2011. The Zenit-3F carrier rocket, used to place the satellite into orbit, was making its maiden flight. The rocket consisted of a two-stage Zenit-2SB manufactured by the Ukrainian Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and an NPO Lavochkin-manufactured Fregat-SB upper stage. The launch was also the maiden flight of the Fregat-SB, which was derived from the Fregat, but equipped with additional propellant tanks. The satellite separated from the upper stage at 21:28 UTC. The Russian Federal Space Agency confirmed the spacecraft was operational the next day.