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 it was succeeded by the Aerospace Defence Forces.
| Manufacturer | NPO Lavochkin |
|---|---|
| Country of origin |  Soviet Union Russia |
| Operator | VKS (1991–2011) VKO (2011—) |
| Applications | Early warning/Missile defence |
| Specifications | |
| Bus | GRAU: 71Kh6 |
| Launch mass | 2600 |
| Regime | Geosynchronous |
| Design life | 5-7 years [1] |
| Production | |
| Status | Out of production |
| Launched | 8 |
| Operational | 1 |
| Retired | 4 |
| Failed | 3 |
| Lost | 0 |
| Maiden launch | Kosmos 2133 14 February 1991 |
| Last launch | Kosmos 2479 30 March 2012 |
| Related spacecraft | |
| Derived from | US-KS |
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
editUS-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 easternmost 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
edit.svg)
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
edit| Satellite | COSPAR ID | SATCAT No. | Product Number[1] | Launch Date | Estimated Mission 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
edit- US-KS
- US-K
- Defense Support Program, a similar United States system
- EKS, the new system replacing the entire Oko programme.
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "Hartron-Arkos:Control Systems for Space and Ground Applications". Hartron-Arkos. n.d. Archived from the original on 2012-03-08. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
- ^ a b Pavel, Podvig (2010-04-28). "Early warning system is down to three satellites". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Archived from the original on 2012-02-29. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
- ^ Graham, William (2012-03-29). "Russian Proton-K completes 45 years of service with US-KMO satellite launch". NASA Spaceflight. Archived from the original on 2012-04-03. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- ^ "Soyuz 2-1B launches EKS-1 to upgrade Russian Early Warning System". 17 November 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-12-20. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
- ^ Pavel, Podvig (2012-03-30). "Cosmos-2479 - new geostationary early warning satellite". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Archived from the original on 2012-05-03. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- ^ Christy, Robert (n.d.). "2012-012". Zarya. Archived from the original on 2017-06-23. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- ^ Holm, Michael (2011). "916th independent Radio-Technical Unit". Soviet Armed Forces 1945-1991. Archived from the original on 2015-10-09. Retrieved 2012-04-22.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Podvig, Pavel (2002). "History and the Current Status of the Russian Early-Warning System" (PDF). Science and Global Security. 10 (1): 21–60. Bibcode:2002S&GS...10...21P. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.692.6127. doi:10.1080/08929880212328. ISSN 0892-9882. S2CID 122901563. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-15.
- ^ Holm, Michael (2011). "1127th independent Radio-Technical Unit". Soviet Armed Forces 1945-1991. Archived from the original on 2015-10-09. Retrieved 2012-04-22.
- ^ Krebs, Gunther Dirk (2012-03-30). "US-KMO (71Kh6)". Gunther's Space Page. Archived from the original on 2012-10-12. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
- ^ Pavel, Podvig (2003-11-28). "Problems with Russian military satellites". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
- ^ Pavel, Podvig (2012-09-02). "Only two satellites left in Russia's early-warning system". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2012-04-19.