Cosmic Penguin
Geek Penguin in GTO
Oh the suspense!
Since yet another Proton rocket flopped on the way to orbit in May, Russia's main-stay rocket has been grounded for the longest period ever since its latest troubles started in late 2010.
But the Silver Hypergolic Monster (TM) isn't so easy to die, right?
Today marks the day it comes back into business. This roar, however, will be very muted, for what sits on top of it is a highly secret satellite for the Russian military. Known as Olimp-K or the alternative name of Luch (sharing the name with the civilian Russian TDRS), almost nothing is known of this new communication satellite, except that it seems to be heading for geostationary orbit and may be based on the newest Express-2000 platform first flew late last year. Well....we all love Russian enigmas, right? :rofl:
Launch site:
Baikonur Launch pad no. 81/24 46° 4'15.38"N, 62°59'5.11"E
Launch date: September 27/28, 2014
The launch time is:
02:23:00 Baikonur September 28, 2014
00:23:00 Moscow Local September 28, 2014
20:23:00 UTC September 27, 2014
16:23:00 EDT September 27, 2014
13:23:00 PDT September 27, 2014
[eventTimer]2014-09-27 20:23:00?before|after;%dd% Days %hh% Hours %mm% Minutes %ss% Seconds %c%[/eventTimer] Olimp-K/Luch launch
Payload: Olimp-K/Luch military communications satellite
(Olimp means Olympus/Olympic; Luch means Ray)
Manufacturer: JCS "Information Satellite Systems" Reshetnev Company (NPO PM)
Olimp-K, also designated Luch, is a Russian geostationary satellite built for the Russian Ministry of Defence and the Russian intelligence agency FSB. The objectives of the missions have not been published.
According a Komersant report, the satellite will serve in a dual role: One being electronic intelligence (SIGINT) and the other is providing secure communications for governmental use. The Luch designation hints to a data relay role. Therfore the Olimp-K designation might relate to the ELINT payload while the Luch designation relates to the data relay payload.
A connection to the Yenisey A1 (Luch 4) experimental satellite has also been speculated, but could not be substantiated.
Olimp is likely built on ISS Reshetnev's Ekspress-2000 bus with a launch mass of about 3000 kg. It is likely, that it will get a Kosmos designator after launch. Reportedly it will be located at the 167° east psotion.
Launcher: Proton-M with Briz-M upper stage
Parameter|Value
Rocket Family|Proton
Designation|8K82M
Class|Heavy
Type|Expendable
Designer|Salut Design Bureau
Manufacturer|Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center
Stages|4
Height, mm|42340
Diameter, mm|7400
Launch Mass, kg|700000
The vehicle's reliability statistics according to http://www.spacelaunchreport.com/log2013.html#rate:
Weather forecast for Baikonur, Kazakhstan on September 28, 2014 (2 a.m.)
Some sun in the morning with increasing clouds during the afternoon. High 16C. Winds NW at 15 to 25 km/h.
Time|Temps|Dew Point|Relative Humidity|Precip|Snow|Cloud cover|Pressure|Wind|Weather
2 AM|13°C|11°C|91%|4%|0%|63%|1010 hPa|11 km/h W|
Mostly Cloudy
Watching the launch live
References
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/olymp.html
http://www.federalspace.ru
http://tvroscosmos.ru
http://www.khrunichev.ru
http://www.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com
http://russianforces.org
http://space.skyrocket.de
http://www.iss-reshetnev.com
http://www.space-track.org
http://www.spacelaunchreport.com
http://english.wunderground.com/q/locid:KZXX0055
Since yet another Proton rocket flopped on the way to orbit in May, Russia's main-stay rocket has been grounded for the longest period ever since its latest troubles started in late 2010.
But the Silver Hypergolic Monster (TM) isn't so easy to die, right?
Today marks the day it comes back into business. This roar, however, will be very muted, for what sits on top of it is a highly secret satellite for the Russian military. Known as Olimp-K or the alternative name of Luch (sharing the name with the civilian Russian TDRS), almost nothing is known of this new communication satellite, except that it seems to be heading for geostationary orbit and may be based on the newest Express-2000 platform first flew late last year. Well....we all love Russian enigmas, right? :rofl:
Launch site:
Baikonur Launch pad no. 81/24 46° 4'15.38"N, 62°59'5.11"E
Launch date: September 27/28, 2014
The launch time is:
02:23:00 Baikonur September 28, 2014
00:23:00 Moscow Local September 28, 2014
20:23:00 UTC September 27, 2014
16:23:00 EDT September 27, 2014
13:23:00 PDT September 27, 2014
[eventTimer]2014-09-27 20:23:00?before|after;%dd% Days %hh% Hours %mm% Minutes %ss% Seconds %c%[/eventTimer] Olimp-K/Luch launch
Payload: Olimp-K/Luch military communications satellite
(Olimp means Olympus/Olympic; Luch means Ray)
Manufacturer: JCS "Information Satellite Systems" Reshetnev Company (NPO PM)
Olimp-K, also designated Luch, is a Russian geostationary satellite built for the Russian Ministry of Defence and the Russian intelligence agency FSB. The objectives of the missions have not been published.
According a Komersant report, the satellite will serve in a dual role: One being electronic intelligence (SIGINT) and the other is providing secure communications for governmental use. The Luch designation hints to a data relay role. Therfore the Olimp-K designation might relate to the ELINT payload while the Luch designation relates to the data relay payload.
A connection to the Yenisey A1 (Luch 4) experimental satellite has also been speculated, but could not be substantiated.
Olimp is likely built on ISS Reshetnev's Ekspress-2000 bus with a launch mass of about 3000 kg. It is likely, that it will get a Kosmos designator after launch. Reportedly it will be located at the 167° east psotion.
Launcher: Proton-M with Briz-M upper stage
Rocket Family|Proton
Designation|8K82M
Class|Heavy
Type|Expendable
Designer|Salut Design Bureau
Manufacturer|Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center
Stages|4
Height, mm|42340
Diameter, mm|7400
Launch Mass, kg|700000
The vehicle's reliability statistics according to http://www.spacelaunchreport.com/log2013.html#rate:
Code:
================================================================
Vehicle Successes/Tries Realzd Pred Consc. Last Dates
Rate Rate* Succes Fail
================================================================
Proton-M/Briz-M 68 74 .91 .91 0 05/15/14 2001-Weather forecast for Baikonur, Kazakhstan on September 28, 2014 (2 a.m.)
Some sun in the morning with increasing clouds during the afternoon. High 16C. Winds NW at 15 to 25 km/h.
2 AM|13°C|11°C|91%|4%|0%|63%|1010 hPa|11 km/h W|
Watching the launch live
- TSENKI Video Streams: http://www.tv-tsenki.com/livechoose.php (coverage not guaranteed, but still worth trying)
References
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/olymp.html
http://www.federalspace.ru
http://tvroscosmos.ru
http://www.khrunichev.ru
http://www.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com
http://russianforces.org
http://space.skyrocket.de
http://www.iss-reshetnev.com
http://www.space-track.org
http://www.spacelaunchreport.com
http://english.wunderground.com/q/locid:KZXX0055
