Author Topic: Proton-M/Briz-M - Ekvator - Baikonur - 2024  (Read 7981 times)

Offline B. Hendrickx

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1382
  • Liked: 1891
  • Likes Given: 67
Proton-M/Briz-M - Ekvator - Baikonur - 2024
« on: 05/10/2022 12:44 pm »
ISS Reshetnev is working on a secretive Proton payload named Ekvator (“equator”). So far the name has been mentioned by only two sources. It first appeared in a brief biography of an ISS Reshetnev engineer that was published after he received an award in 2020:

http://www.rusea.info/eoaywinners/15487
Ekvator is listed here among numerous other projects that this person has been involved in.

Ekvator again showed up in procurement documentation placed online in February-March this year:
https://www.tenderguru.ru/contract_na_zakupku/63585151

This contains information on a contract between Glavkosmos Launch Services and the Moscow State University of Geodesy and Cartography (MIIGAiK), which in turn is based on a contract signed between ISS Reshetnev and Glavkosmos Launch Services on April 12, 2021. Under the recently signed contract, MIIGAiK is to study the environmental impact of the Ekvator launch, which will be carried out from Baikonur using a Proton-M rocket with a Briz-M upper stage and a 14S75 payload shroud. MIIGAiK is to deliver its report to Glavkosmos Launch Services by March 30, 2023, so the launch will definitely not take place any sooner than next year.

Glavkosmos is a daughter company of Roskosmos charged with marketing Russian space industry products on the global market. Glavkosmos Launch Services was set up under Glavkosmos in 2017 to arrange commercial Soyuz-2 launches from Russian spaceports. In 2019 Glavkosmos took control of  International Launch Services (ILS), which until then had had the exclusive right to sell Proton launches on the international market. Under the management of Glavkosmos, ILS and GK Launch Services would offer Soyuz and Proton missions in parallel, with ILS taking a leading role in sales in the North American market. See, for instance, here:
https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/05/17/proton-launch-provider-ils-embraces-closer-relationship-with-roscosmos/

This would seem to be the first Proton launch arranged by GK Launch Services. So far the company’s website remains silent on this deal, mentioning only its marketing of Soyuz-2 launches.
http://gklaunch.ru/

The involvement of Glavkosmos would suggest that ISS Reshetnev builds the payload for a foreign customer. That does leave the question why the satellite has a Russian name (unless it is a translated name) and why (according to the procurement documentation) the launch will be carried out in the framework of Russia’s Federal Space Program for 2016-2025. In any case, the secrecy surrounding this payload is a sure sign that the Russians prefer not to disclose the identity of the customer.
« Last Edit: 03/23/2024 08:59 pm by zubenelgenubi »

Offline Asteroza

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2836
  • Liked: 1084
  • Likes Given: 33
Re: Ekvator: a mysterious Proton payload
« Reply #1 on: 05/11/2022 05:34 am »
With a name like Equator, perhaps it implies a GEO payload?

Offline B. Hendrickx

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1382
  • Liked: 1891
  • Likes Given: 67
Re: Ekvator: a mysterious Proton payload
« Reply #2 on: 05/11/2022 09:15 pm »
With a name like Equator, perhaps it implies a GEO payload?

We should be careful not to read too much into Russian satellite names, but the fact is of course that the Proton-M/Briz-M combination has so far only been used for launches to GEO (not taking into account the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter). I've been wondering why an environmental assessment impact report is required for the launch, but I presume this is a standard procedure for a launch carrying a new type of satellite and does not necessarily point to a unique launch trajectory.

There might be a link with an obscure satellite project that ISS Reshetnev is working on as a subcontractor to the Central Scientific Research Institute of Chemistry and Mechanics (CNIIHM).
See the latest post in the CNIIHM thread:
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=48108.0

But it's hard then to explain the involvement of Glavkosmos Launch Services.

Offline russianhalo117

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8755
  • Liked: 4672
  • Likes Given: 768
Re: Ekvator: a mysterious Proton payload
« Reply #3 on: 05/11/2022 09:24 pm »
With a name like Equator, perhaps it implies a GEO payload?

We should be careful not to read too much into Russian satellite names, but the fact is of course that the Proton-M/Briz-M combination has so far only been used for launches to GEO (not taking into account the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter). I've been wondering why an environmental assessment impact report is required for the launch, but I presume this is a standard procedure for a launch carrying a new type of satellite and does not necessarily point to a unique launch trajectory.

There might be a link with an obscure satellite project that ISS Reshetnev is working on as a subcontractor to the Central Scientific Research Institute of Chemistry and Mechanics (CNIIHM).
See the latest post in the CNIIHM thread:
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=48108.0

But it's hard then to explain the involvement of Glavkosmos Launch Services.

Some people have speculated that the use of GKLS is merely for the use of a previously commercial Proton for an expired MoU and also as a poor cover mechanism. It could also be a cover for a joint Iranian project or something but no strong indications for the latter.
« Last Edit: 05/11/2022 09:25 pm by russianhalo117 »

Offline B. Hendrickx

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1382
  • Liked: 1891
  • Likes Given: 67
Re: Ekvator: a mysterious Proton payload
« Reply #4 on: 05/12/2022 10:45 pm »
Some people have speculated that the use of GKLS is merely for the use of a previously commercial Proton for an expired MoU and also as a poor cover mechanism. It could also be a cover for a joint Iranian project or something but no strong indications for the latter.

Iran crossed my mind as well. Early this century, Russia and Iran reached an agreement under which Russia would build and launch two communications satellites for Iran (named Zohreh), but the deal fell through several years later. It's not unthinkable that Iran again approached Russia for this more recently. There was a report in late 2016 that Iran was conducting talks with two or three foreign companies to build a national telecommunications satellite.
https://www.iran.ru/news/economics/103953/Iran_planiruet_vskore_zapustit_eshche_3_sputnika_v_kosmos

Russia is also building a remote sensing satellite for Iran (which appears to be close to launch). That deal was announced with quite a lot of fanfare in 2015, but the project went into a news blackout in the following years, with Putin even denying its existence last year. So if an agreement was recently signed on a joint comsat project, that would probably have been done hush-hush as well. No real evidence for this though as far as I know.

Offline russianhalo117

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8755
  • Liked: 4672
  • Likes Given: 768
Re: Ekvator: a mysterious Proton payload
« Reply #5 on: 05/16/2022 03:33 pm »
Some people have speculated that the use of GKLS is merely for the use of a previously commercial Proton for an expired MoU and also as a poor cover mechanism. It could also be a cover for a joint Iranian project or something but no strong indications for the latter.

Iran crossed my mind as well. Early this century, Russia and Iran reached an agreement under which Russia would build and launch two communications satellites for Iran (named Zohreh), but the deal fell through several years later. It's not unthinkable that Iran again approached Russia for this more recently. There was a report in late 2016 that Iran was conducting talks with two or three foreign companies to build a national telecommunications satellite.
https://www.iran.ru/news/economics/103953/Iran_planiruet_vskore_zapustit_eshche_3_sputnika_v_kosmos

Russia is also building a remote sensing satellite for Iran (which appears to be close to launch). That deal was announced with quite a lot of fanfare in 2015, but the project went into a news blackout in the following years, with Putin even denying its existence last year. So if an agreement was recently signed on a joint comsat project, that would probably have been done hush-hush as well. No real evidence for this though as far as I know.
https://twitter.com/IrnaEnglish/status/1526169254055256065?t=XvYTA60zJH_loUM0748Aug&s=19

Offline russianhalo117

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8755
  • Liked: 4672
  • Likes Given: 768
Re: Ekvator: a mysterious Proton payload
« Reply #6 on: 05/31/2022 03:53 pm »
Iranian Project 505 Satellite launch entry popped up on NK forum via a source this could be for Alpha ES or another sat.

https://twitter.com/nicolas_pillet/status/1531612764917080066
« Last Edit: 05/31/2022 03:55 pm by russianhalo117 »

Offline B. Hendrickx

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1382
  • Liked: 1891
  • Likes Given: 67
Re: Ekvator: a mysterious Proton payload
« Reply #7 on: 05/31/2022 10:51 pm »
Iranian Project 505 Satellite launch entry popped up on NK forum via a source this could be for Alpha ES or another sat.

https://twitter.com/nicolas_pillet/status/1531612764917080066

The Project 505 satellite is a remote sensing satellite for Iran built by the VNIIEM Corporation and to be launched by a Soyuz-class launch vehicle. See this thread:
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=54078.0
No relation to Ekvator (which may very well be a Russian rather than a foreign payload).

Online Alter Sachse

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2423
  • Near Heidelberg
  • Liked: 1481
  • Likes Given: 1784
Re: Ekvator: a mysterious Proton payload
« Reply #8 on: 06/01/2022 07:08 am »
Another "Olimp" on Proton was planned.
Could there be a connection between Olimp and Ekvator ?
One day you're a hero  next day you're a clown  there's nothing that is in between
        Jeff Lynne - "21century man"

Offline B. Hendrickx

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1382
  • Liked: 1891
  • Likes Given: 67
Re: Ekvator: a mysterious Proton payload
« Reply #9 on: 06/01/2022 11:36 am »
Another "Olimp" on Proton was planned.
Could there be a connection between Olimp and Ekvator ?

Yes, there could. Olimp is most likely a SIGINT satellite intended to eavesdrop on geostationary satellites by picking up downlink and/or uplink signals. Ekvator could complement Olimp by making close-up photographic inspections of GEO satellites. Let’s not forget that the US has two equivalent systems: Nemesis (also called PAN and CLIO) for SIGINT of the GEO belt (two satellites launched in 2009 and 2014) and GSSAP (Geostationary Space Situational Awareness Program) for optical inspection of GEO satellites (six satellites launched in pairs between 2014 and 2022).

There are actually two factors indicating that Russia may indeed be working on a GSSAP type system. First, in July 2020 the commander of Russia's Aerospace Forces Sergei Surovikin said in an interview for the "Krasnaya Zvezda" newspaper that what he called a "high-orbiting space reconnaissance system" would begin deployment in 2023. The Krasnaya Zvezda website has been blocked outside Russia, but the interview with Surovikin is still available here:
https://vpk.name/news/416423_sergei_surovikin_sostav_vooruzheniya_i_voennoi_tehniki_vks_za_poslednie_pyat_let_sushestvenno_izmenilsya.html

Apparently, he wasn't referring to the geostationary component of the EKS missile early warning system, because in the same interview he said "the third phase of EKS" (most likely the geostationary EKS satellites) was expected to begin in 2022. So it would seem the “high-orbiting space reconnaissance system” is something else. A GSSAP type system would fit the bill.

Second, as I mentioned earlier in this thread, ISS Reshetnev is known to be working on a satellite project for the Central Scientific Research Institute of Chemistry and Mechanics (CNIIHM), which is the prime contractor for the low-orbiting satellite inspectors flown under the Nivelir project. It’s perfectly possible that CNIIHM outsourced work on geostationary inspection satellites to ISS Reshetnev because of the company's extensive experience with operating satellites in GEO.


Offline B. Hendrickx

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1382
  • Liked: 1891
  • Likes Given: 67
Re: Ekvator: a mysterious Proton payload
« Reply #10 on: 06/01/2022 11:53 am »
Apparently, he wasn't referring to the geostationary component of the EKS missile early warning system, because in the same interview he said "the third phase of EKS" (most likely the geostationary EKS satellites) was expected to begin in 2022. So it would seem the “high-orbiting space reconnaissance system” is something else. A GSSAP type system would fit the bill.

Correction: Surovikin was talking about the third phase of ESSS, which is a constellation of military communications satellites consisting of the Sfera-V and Sfera-S satellites. However, he did mention EKS elsewhere in the interview, saying it was expected to be deployed by 2024, so that still indicates that the "high-orbiting space reconnaissance system" is something else than EKS.

Offline B. Hendrickx

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1382
  • Liked: 1891
  • Likes Given: 67
Re: Ekvator: a mysterious Proton payload
« Reply #11 on: 09/14/2022 09:43 pm »
Ekvator is identified as a communications satellite in a report published on September 6 on a website of the local administration of the Ulagan District of the Altai Republic, the impact zone of the Proton’s second stage and payload fairing. The report can be downloaded here:
 
http://улаган-адм.рф/uvedomlenie-o-provedenii-obschestvennyh-obsuzhdeniy-predvaritelnyh-materialov-ocenki-vozdeystviya-na-okruzhayuschuyu-sredu-raketno-kosmicheskogo-kompleksa-s-kosmicheskim-apparatom-ekvator-ekspluatiruemogo-s-kosmodroma-baykonur..html

The report says Ekvator will operate in the Ka, Ku and S bands and use ISS Reshetnev’s Express-1000N platform. This is a medium-size unpressurized platform with a maximum mass of 1,900 kg and a maximum payload mass of 500 kg.  It has been used by several satellites since 2011, the first one being Israel’s AMOS-5.  The next one will be Angosat-2, to be launched next month. Attached are diagrams of the bus and payload section of Express-1000N and a drawing of Telkom-3, one of the satellites built on the basis of the Express-1000N platform.

The report has details of a study to assess the environmental impact of the Proton launch carrying Ekvator. The study started in April this year and will be completed in March 2023. It was ordered by Glavkosmos Launch Services, which received a contract from ISS Reshetnev on April 12, 2021 to provide launch services for Ekvator. Although Glavkosmos usually does this for foreign payloads, the launch will be carried out under Russia’s Federal Space Program for 2016-2025, which suggests that it was ordered by Roscosmos and is for civilian rather than military purposes. The secrecy surrounding the payload does indicate it is part of a project that has not been widely publicized.

One possibility is that Ekvator is the geostationary component of the Confidential Mobile Satellite Communications System (SSKMS), a project started around 2015. The latest news on this was given in a newsletter of ISS Reshetnev in 2020, when the go-ahead was given to build mock-ups of on-board and ground-based equipment. SSKMS was expected to consist of one geostationary satellite and three satellites in highly elliptical Tundra orbits. These were earlier apparently named Yenisei-S and Yenisei-V, but may have changed names since.  Two problems with this option are that Ekvator is mentioned alongside Yenisei-S and V in a biography of an ISS Reshetnev specialist and that tender documentation for SSKMS said the satellites would operate in the C and S bands, which does not quite correspond to what has been announced for Ekvator.

Another possibility is that Ekvator is the geostationary component of another mobile satellite communications system that was announced by ISS Reshetnev in April 2019.
https://tass.ru/kosmos/6315930

This would also consist of GEO and HEO satellites (at least two in GEO and three in HEO), but would not only cover Russian territory, but also that of the member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States. It was billed as an equivalent of Thuraya, Garuda and Inmarsat and would be used for “real-time voice communications and transfer of data”. The report referred to a patent for the constellation, probably this one published in 2017:
https://patents.s3.yandex.net/RU2619582C2_20170517.pdf

This mentioned four satellites in Molniya orbits and two in GEO with payloads for both mobile and fixed communications. Possible frequency bands were L, S, C, Ku and Ka, which do include the three announced for Ekvator. However, in early 2019 ISS Reshetnev was still working on this project “on its own initiative”, indicating it had not been formally approved yet. Nothing of it has been heard since. The question is also how many CIS member states would still be willing to join such a co-operative venture in the wake of recent events.

Offline B. Hendrickx

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1382
  • Liked: 1891
  • Likes Given: 67
Re: Ekvator: a mysterious Proton payload
« Reply #12 on: 10/17/2022 07:51 pm »
A recently published document makes it possible to determine with a high degree of certainty that Ekvator is a communications satellite that Russia is building for Iran (as has already been speculated earlier in this thread).  The document is a detailed 250-page report published by the Moscow State University of Geodesy and Cartography (MIIGAiK) which assesses the environmental impact of the Proton/Briz-M launch carrying Ekvator.

http://xn----7sbabmj7bof9c.xn--p1ai/tinybrowser/oprosnik/proekt-teh.-dokumentacii-ekvator2.pdf

The report says  Ekvator uses ISS Reshetnev’s Ekspress-1000N platform and describes Ekspress AT-1, Ekspress AT-2 and Ekspress AM-8 as its “prototypes”, the main difference being the communications payload carried by the satellite. It includes two drawings of the satellite, showing several antennas operating in the Ka, Ku and S bands (see attachments 1 and 2). There is also a drawing of Ekvator in its launch configuration (attachment 3). Installed underneath the satellite is an adapter to connect it to the Briz-M upper stage. This will remain attached to the satellite throughout its lifetime.

The report also contains a table with some basic technical features of the satellite (see attachment 4). It weighs about 2300 kg (significantly heavier than the earlier Ekspress-1000N satellites), with the payload accounting for 755 kg of that. It has a minimum expected lifetime of 15 years, but on-board consumables should make it possible to extend that to 17 years. The solar panels should still provide 6300 watts of power by the end of the satellite’s lifetime.

The key information given in the report is that the satellite will be parked in geostationary orbit at 34° eastern longitude.  According to the website of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), that spot is currently reserved for an Iranian communications satellite (under the name IRN-30B-34E). Another sign that Ekvator is being built for a foreign customer is that ISS Reshetnev signed a contract in April 2021 with Glavkosmos Launch Services to provide launch services for the satellite.

Plans for an Iranian geostationary communications satellite (originally named Zohreh ("Venus")) go all the way back to the shah regime in the late 1970s. They were shelved after the 1979 Islamic Revolution only to be resurrected about ten years later. In 1992 a preliminary agreement was signed with two European companies to build a pair of satellites. These were to be placed at 26°EL and 34°EL, but a contract was never signed. After the turn of the century the Iranians turned to Russia, with ISS Reshetnev (then called NPO PM) receiving a contract for Zohreh in 2005. Those plans later also fell through, but several press reports suggest that around the middle of last decade Iran again began looking for foreign partners to build geostationary comsats, more specifically companies in China, France (more specifically Eutelsat), Russia (most likely ISS Reshetnev) and South Korea.

This one is from October 2016.
https://spacewatch.global/2016/10/four-countries-interested-building-irans-national-communication-satellite/

Quote
Four countries interested in building Iran's National Communication Satellite

According to Iran’s Communications and Information Technology Minister Mahmoud Vaezi, satellite manufacturers from four countries have expressed interest in building Iran’s National Communication Satellite (NCS). The announcement by Minister Vaezi came after he revealed that a contract had been signed with an unnamed Russian satellite manufacturer for Tehran’s National Remote Sensing Satellite (NRSS).

While Minister Vaezi and the Iranian media have not named the companies interested in building the NCS, Minister Vaezi did say that the companies in question come from China, France, Russia, and South Korea.
“The construction of the two operational satellites is a long-term project and currently, we are in talks with four countries for our communications satellite,” said Vaezi, referring to both the NRSS and the NCS respectively.
“France, Russia, China and South Korea have expressed their interest in participating in the project. We will come to a final decision with one of these four countries and execute the construction of National Communications Satellite Project as one of the objectives of the Sixth Development Plan,” added Vaezi.

In March 2017 Iran applied for five slots in the geostationary belt:

https://spacewatch.global/2017/03/iran-space-agency-applies-five-geostationary-orbital-slots-ka-ku-band-communications-satellites/

Quote
Iran Space Agency Applies for Five Geostationary Orbital Slots for Ka- and Ku-Band Communications Satellites

The Iran Space Agency (ISA) announced on March 1, 2017, that it had applied to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for five geostationary (GEO) orbital slots for Ka- and Ku-band communications satellites.
The announcement was made on the ISA website, and provided no details about when it expects to fill the orbital slots it has applied for, and with which particular satellites.
Under ITU rules, Iran has a limited time period to place satellites in orbital slots allocated to it otherwise it will lose them and will have to reapply for other orbital slots. Iran has previously applied to the ITU for orbital slots but has not placed satellites in them within the allotted time period.
The ISA announcement did say, however, that it is in extensive discussions with the ITU about the orbital slots, and is also engaged with other countries about frequency coordination.
Iran is at the start of a communications satellite procurement process, and it is understood that companies from China, France, Russia, and South Korea have expressed interest in bidding on the project, called the National Communications Satellite (NCS).

Judging from the following report in February 2019, no final decision had been made yet on which foreign partner Iran would team up with.

https://en.mehrnews.com/news/142877/Iran-plans-to-send-satellite-into-Geo-orbit-ICT-minister

Quote
Iran plans to send satellite into Geo orbit: ICT minister

Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi said on Monday the country is planning to purchase a satellite to place it into the geostationary orbit.

Jahromi added that the private sector is serious in gaining the necessary permits for buying the satellite with “international cooperation" and sending it into the geo orbit in which Iran has orbital slots.

Noting that the orbital slots in the geo belong to Iran for the next two years, the ICT minister said the country hopes it would be able to orbit the satellite in due time.

I haven’t found any more recent reports, but one can assume that a deal was reached with Russia sometime in the 2019-2021 timeframe.

Looking at the ITU website, the five slots which Iran applied for in 2017 are still active:
24.19° EL: IRN-24.19E
24°19 EL: IRN-30B-24.19E
26° EL: IRN-30B-26E
34° EL: IRN-30B-34E
43.5° EL: IRN-30B-43.5E   

According to the MIIGAiK report, Ekvator is scheduled for launch in the first quarter of 2024. It is unclear if a deal has been reached with Russia on launching any follow-on satellites. Although the satellite is so far referred to only with the Russian word Ekvator, it may very well be announced with the Farsi word for "equator" once it reaches orbit.

Offline B. Hendrickx

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1382
  • Liked: 1891
  • Likes Given: 67
Re: Proton-M/Briz-M - Ekvator - Baikonur - Q1 2024
« Reply #13 on: 11/01/2022 01:10 pm »
All that is known about Ekvator so far is summed up in this article on Russian-Iranian space cooperation in this week's edition of The Space Review:

https://www.thespacereview.com/article/4475/1

Offline input~2

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6810
  • Liked: 1540
  • Likes Given: 567
Re: Proton-M/Briz-M - Ekvator - Baikonur - Q1 2024
« Reply #14 on: 11/06/2022 04:02 pm »
AFAIU an RFP from ISS Reshetnev for "Production insurance of spacecraft "Ekvator"" was published
"Price: 855 556 000 rubles"
(source: cached version of https://tassbiz.ru/postings/purchase_plan/details/purchase_plans_223_17550154)

Offline B. Hendrickx

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1382
  • Liked: 1891
  • Likes Given: 67
Re: Proton-M/Briz-M - Ekvator - Baikonur - Q1 2024
« Reply #15 on: 11/06/2022 09:56 pm »
AFAIU an RFP from ISS Reshetnev for "Production insurance of spacecraft "Ekvator"" was published
"Price: 855 556 000 rubles"
(source: cached version of https://tassbiz.ru/postings/purchase_plan/details/purchase_plans_223_17550154)

Looks like ISS Reshetnev is going to take out insurance for the production of Ekvator (probably a standard procedure, not something unique to this satellite). This is described as a planned purchase, so it hasn't happened yet. Associated documentation may appear online later, but it's probably not going to tell us much more about the satellite than what was revealed in the environmental impact assessment report. 

Offline B. Hendrickx

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1382
  • Liked: 1891
  • Likes Given: 67
Re: Proton-M/Briz-M - Ekvator - Baikonur - Q1 2024
« Reply #16 on: 12/24/2022 11:58 am »
https://en.irna.ir/news/84970632/Iran-Russia-sign-space-cooperation-document

Quote
Iran, Russia sign space cooperation document

The document was inked on the sidelines of Iran Airshow 2022 in Kish Island, southern Iran, in presence of the heads of space agencies of both Iran and Russia.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Head of the Iranian Space Agency Hassan Salariyeh said that the document included cooperation on a wide range of issues, including the construction of remote-sensing and communication satellites, creating laboratory infrastructure, assembling, launching bases and satellite tests.   

He said that this agreement came as a result of months of negotiations with the Russian Space Agency with the aim of enhancement of communications in both Iran and Russia.

Noting that Iran began its space industry 20 years ago, Salariyeh said that the country has now achieved significant achievements.

He believed that the agreement could help Iran reach the goals of its 10-year vision plan in space industry in a more speedy way. 

Russian Space Agency chief Yury Borisov said for his part that Iran is not a new ally for Russia and the two countries have been cooperating on space industry since 2002.

He said that Iran’s plans to develop its space industry covers all space areas and Russia will help Iran in this regard.
...

Apparently, some kind of agreement has been reached on the construction of more remote sensing satellites (successors of Khayyam) and communications satellites (successors of Ekvator). As mentioned here before, Iran has reserved five slots for geostationary communications satellites. Ekvator will occupy the one at 34°EL.

Online zubenelgenubi

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 11181
  • Arc to Arcturus, then Spike to Spica
  • Sometimes it feels like Trantor in the time of Hari Seldon
  • Liked: 7404
  • Likes Given: 72484
Re: Proton-M/Briz-M - Ekvator - Baikonur - Q1 2024
« Reply #17 on: 03/22/2024 11:12 pm »
Any new news?
According to the MIIGAiK report, Ekvator is scheduled for launch in the first quarter of 2024.

First and only Proton-M launch this year.
« Last Edit: 03/23/2024 12:22 pm by zubenelgenubi »
Support your local planetarium! (COVID-panic and forward: Now more than ever.) My current avatar is saying "i wants to go uppies!" Yes, there are God-given rights. Do you wish to gainsay the Declaration of Independence?

Offline B. Hendrickx

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1382
  • Liked: 1891
  • Likes Given: 67
Re: Proton-M/Briz-M - Ekvator - Baikonur - Q1 2024
« Reply #18 on: 03/23/2024 03:34 pm »
Any new news?

The latest information comes from a presentation given by ISS Reshetnev at a conference in January this year. In a launch schedule for ISS Reshetnev satellites in the period 2023-2030, Ekvator is still listed as being scheduled for launch in 2024. 

Offline B. Hendrickx

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1382
  • Liked: 1891
  • Likes Given: 67
Re: Proton-M/Briz-M - Ekvator - Baikonur - 2024
« Reply #19 on: 03/23/2024 11:32 pm »
Incidentally, if there was any doubt left that Ekvator is a communications satellite for Iran, the ISS Reshetnev launch schedule pretty much eliminates it. Ekvator is listed among the "satellites for export and civilian satellites". All the others in that list (Luch, Express, Yamal) are intended for use by Russia itself, leaving Ekvator as the only one intended "for export".

Tags:
 

Advertisement NovaTech
Advertisement Northrop Grumman
Advertisement
Advertisement Margaritaville Beach Resort South Padre Island
Advertisement Brady Kenniston
Advertisement NextSpaceflight
Advertisement Nathan Barker Photography
0