Proton-M/Briz-M launch with Luch (aka Olymp) - 2023UTC September 27, 2014

[Stan Black]

This lists satellites carrying engines developed by OKB Fakel:-
http://www.fakel-russia.com/images/content/o_kompanii/letnaya_istoriya/KA_s_oborudovaniem.pdf

The entry for Olimp shows ‘ЭРДУ с К50-10.5 (КМ-5)’.

КМ-5 comes from the Keldysh Research Centre, and was flight tested on Ekspress-A №4.
http://kerc.msk.ru/predpijatie/история/

[SciNews]

Florence Parly, the French defence minister, said that "the Athena-Fidus satellite, operated jointly by France and Italy, was approached “a bit too closely” by Russia’s Luch-Olymp craft, known for its advanced listening capacity."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/07/france-accuses-russia-spying-satellite-communications-espionage

[Phillip Clark]

BBC story along the same lines.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-45448261

Interesting that they are linking the satellite with the small satellite inspector satellites which we have seen in much lower orbits.

[Star One]

BBC story along the same lines.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-45448261

Interesting that they are linking the satellite with the small satellite inspector satellites which we have seen in much lower orbits.

Do you think we’ll get any kind of Russian response to this story or will they just ignore it?

[Phillip Clark]

BBC story along the same lines.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-45448261
Interesting that they are linking the satellite with the small satellite inspector satellites which we have seen in much lower orbits.

Do you think we’ll get any kind of Russian response to this story or will they just ignore it?

I am not holding my breath.   Olymp-K/Luch seems to be doing the same as the US Prowler nearly 30 years ago, so the US can't whine about what it's doing with any credibility!

[Olaf]

A lot of information by Jonathan McDonell in this tweet
https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1038147610073341953

[Star One]

A lot of information by Jonathan McDonell in this tweet
https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1038147610073341953

My only comment would be that I assume the French intelligence agencies have access to resources and data that he doesn’t as to what it is doing.

[Liss]

Judging from orbital elements only, since Oct 2017 object 40258 had stationed near a series of comsats operated by different Muslim states:

38.0E -- Paksat 1R
42.0E -- Turksat 4A
42.5E -- Nigcomsat 1R
47.5E -- Yahsat 1B
48.0E -- Afghansat 1
50.0E -- Turksat 4B

Don't think Athena-Fidus fits there.

[B. Hendrickx]

The mysterious Olimp-K/Luch satellite has been in orbit for almost five years now and during its extensive travels across the geostationary belt has come close to a number of Western satellites, raising suspicion that it may be on some type of intelligence or surveillance mission. 

I’ve done a search for information on payloads carried by this satellite and have found two. The first has been briefly discussed in a thread on the "Novosti kosmonavtiki" forum, but I haven't seen the second one discussed elsewhere yet.

1) a 12 meter antenna for personal mobile communications

This is mentioned in this 2016 report written by ISS Reshetnev director general Nikolai Testoyedov:

https://tp.iss-reshetnev.ru/documents/documens-other/programm-2016-2020.pdf
(see p. 25)

Testoyedov talks about a Luch type satellite launched in 2014 which made it possible to perform “flight tests of a large-size unfurlable antenna for personal communications with a diameter of 12 m”. There were two Luch satellites launched in 2014 : Luch-5V (the third data relay satellite in the Luch-5 series) in April 2014 (using an Express 1000 platform) and Luch/Olimp-K in September 2014 (using an unknown platform). Luch-5V (like its two predecessors Luch-5A and 5B) only carries two 4.2-m antennas, so Testoyedov must have been referring to Olimp-K/Luch.

The 12 m antenna may be identical to an antenna with the same diameter that was originally supposed to fly on the Luch-4 satellite, which was to join Luch-5A and 5B in orbit. This satellite was based on the Express-2000 platform and in addition to the standard Luch-5 data relay payload would carry two experimental payloads: an intersatellite communications system and a 12 m diameter S-band antenna for personal mobile communications (see attachment 1). The project ran into delays and in 2011 it was decided to build a third “standard” Luch-5 satellite (Luch-5V) and transform Luch-4 into an experimental satellite called Yenisei-A. This later seems to have evolved into the SSKMS Confidential Mobile Communication Satellite System, the current status of which is not entirely clear.   

A 12 m umbrella-shaped antenna built by ISS Reshetnev is seen in at least two publications, but it is not specifically linked to Olimp:

https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/nastroyka-krupnogabaritnyh-transformiruemyh-reflektorov-zontichnogo-tipa-v-dinamicheskoy-sisteme-koordinat

(a 2013 article by an ISS Reshetnev designer) (see attachment 2 )

http://elib.sfu-kras.ru/bitstream/handle/2311/34106/obuhov_o.n_dlya_publikacii_.pdf?sequence(p. 17)

(a 2017 master thesis) (p. 17) (see attachment  3)

Also note this brief biography of an ISS Reshetnev designer named Denis Shendalyov,  who was involved among other things in the design of “12 and 24 m antennas for various satellites for the Ministry of Defense":

http://rusea.info/eoaywinners/9422


2) a 2.2 meter Ku-band antenna

This was built in cooperation with the Baltic State Technical University (“Voenmekh”) in St.-Petersburg, more particularly the university’s Scientific Education Center “Composite Materials and Constructions” (NOTs KMK) headed by professor Aleksei N. Likhachov.

See these two presentations:

A presentation on “dual-purpose” projects that Voenmekh is involved in

https://tp.iss-reshetnev.ru/documents/thesis-npk-2016/thesis-bgtu-voenmech-yakovenko-2016.pdf
(p. 18)

A presentation on NOTs KMK projects by Likhachov

http://composite-forum.ru/netcat_files/userfiles/P12-16_Lihachaev.pdf
(p. 7)

The first slide (see attachment 4) says the antenna was developed as part of project Olimp-K in 2008-2012 and describes it as “a three-layer construction made of carbon composites and aluminium honeycombs”. It is designed to operate in a temperature range of -70°C - +70°C and weighs about 14 kg. The second slide (with Likhachov posing in front of the antenna) has the same information, describing the antenna as one of the NOTs KMK’s “military products using composite materials”.

This article by Likhachov, published in 2011, says the 2.2 m antenna had already passed preliminary tests.
https://nstar-spb.ru/higher_school/print/article/new41610/

It would seem that the 2.2 m antenna is a one-off payload specifically designed for Olimp-K. However, based on the available information, it is impossible to say if it plays a role in Olimp-K’s possible mission to eavesdrop on other satellites in the geostationary belt.

[gosnold]

It would seem that the 2.2 m antenna is a one-off payload specifically designed for Olimp-K. However, based on the available information, it is impossible to say if it plays a role in Olimp-K’s possible mission to eavesdrop on other satellites in the geostationary belt.

A large mesh antenna for interception at low frequencies + a ~2m rigid antenna for high-frequency downlink is the design solution of the Orion SIGINT satellites. That way the spot size on the ground is small and the downlink cannot be intercepted if the ground station is in the middle of Russia.

Thanks for those updates, it's always very interesting!

[B. Hendrickx]

It would seem that the 2.2 m antenna is a one-off payload specifically designed for Olimp-K. However, based on the available information, it is impossible to say if it plays a role in Olimp-K’s possible mission to eavesdrop on other satellites in the geostationary belt.

A large mesh antenna for interception at low frequencies + a ~2m rigid antenna for high-frequency downlink is the design solution of the Orion SIGINT satellites. That way the spot size on the ground is small and the downlink cannot be intercepted if the ground station is in the middle of Russia.

Thank you for that insight. It does turn out now that neither the 12 m nor the 2.2 m antenna were installed on board Olimp.

Cross-posted from the thread on ISS Reshetnev satellites:
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=32423.60

OLIMP-K

In the Olimp-K thread I recently wrote that there was evidence for the presence of two antennas on the Olimp-K satellite, namely a 12m antenna for “personal mobile communications” and a 2.2 meter Ku-band antenna: 
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=34315.100

When I posted the same information on the NK forum, an ISS Reshetnev insider replied that neither of these antennas are actually on board Olimp-K. The Ku-band antenna was definitely intended for Olimp-K, but somehow never made it into space. The payloads carried by Olimp-K therefore remain a mystery.

[starbase]

Analysis of Luch activities by AGI

[Josh_from_Canada]

What are all of the targets this satellite has visited?

[luritie]

What are all of the targets this satellite has visited?

[weedenbc]

If you look at our Satellite Dashboard tool, under "Key Events" in the right-hand pane you can see all the satellites Luch 2 has come close to since entering GEO:
https://satellitedashboard.org/?satids=55841&date=2024-02-14&timescale=week

Major events that I can see:

- Mar 14 to May 5, WGS F2/Cosmos 2533/Kazsat 3
- May 20 to Sept 23, Eutelsat 9A/9B10A cluster (9E)
- Oct 2 to Feb 1, Eutelsat 3B (3E)

[Targeteer]

https://twitter.com/Marco_Langbroek/status/1758228784581370050

[Alter Sachse]

I think some of the posts are about Luch 2

https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=56915.0

[B. Hendrickx]

As for the names: we should distinguish between the names officially announced for public consumption and the "real" ones used in documentation. These are:
September 2014 launch:  Luch (public name), Olimp/Project 762 (internal names)
March 2023 launch: Luch-5X (public name) / Yenisei-2/Project 763 (internal names)

As far as I can tell, the Chinese article quoted here is about the satellites visited by Luch/Olimp. A list of satellites visited by Luch/Olimp has also been compiled by a US company called ComSpoc and was published in the most recent edition of the Space World Foundation's counterspace report (see the attachment). It's been loitering near Intelsat-37E since the summer of 2022.

If you look at our Satellite Dashboard tool, under "Key Events" in the right-hand pane you can see all the satellites Luch 2 has come close to since entering GEO:
https://satellitedashboard.org/?satids=55841&date=2024-02-14&timescale=week

Major events that I can see:

- Mar 14 to May 5, WGS F2/Cosmos 2533/Kazsat 3
- May 20 to Sept 23, Eutelsat 9A/9B10A cluster (9E)
- Oct 2 to Feb 1, Eutelsat 3B (3E)

This is about Luch-5X/Yenisei-2, launched in March 2023. My understanding is that the first three (WGS F2/Cosmos 2533/Kazsat-3) were not actual targets of observation. Those appear to have been Eutelsat KA-SAT 9A (May-September), Eutelsat-3B (October-December) and Eutelsat Konnect VHTS (December-until now).

As for Marco Langbroek's speculation that Luch-5X is the rumored Russian space weapon that's been discussed in recent days: almost certainly not true. All indications are that Luch and Luch-5X are purely passive eavesdropping satellites that have no electronic warfare capability.

All the details on the eavesdropping satellites are in a two-part article that I recently wrote for "The Space Review":
https://www.thespacereview.com/article/4696/1
https://www.thespacereview.com/article/4699/1

[weedenbc]

Absolutely, my mistake. Although I will point out the original is cataloged in Space Track as "LUCH (OLYMP)" but registered with the UN as "Luch" (and described function as "relay of information") while the new one is cataloged in Space Track as "LUCH (OLYMP) 2" but registered with the UN as "Luch 5X". This is why in our counterspace report we always list the international designator and SATNO along with object names

Here's a link for the Dashboard view of the recent activities of both the original Luch and the new Luch 2:
https://satellitedashboard.org?satids=40258%2C55841&date=2024-02-15&timescale=week

The original Luch currently appears to be hanging out around Intelsat 37E since Sept 2022.

[B. Hendrickx]

In late March, Luch/Olimp left its position at 18.1° W, where it had spent about 2.5 years loitering right next to Intelsat 37E. Here’s an update from the Integrity Flash Newsletter:

https://isruniversity.com/2025/04/07/issue-118/

Olymp-K 1 decreased its average altitude ~29km on 26-27 March and then another ~10km on 31 Mar – 1 Apr. As a result, the satellite is now orbiting ~40km below Geostationary Orbit. At its new average altitude, Olymp-K 1’s orbital period is now shorter than the Earth’s rotation and the satellite is moving eastward 0.52° per day.

One wonders how much fuel the satellite has left on board after more than ten years in orbit and numerous wanderings across the geostationary belt. Olimp is known to to be equipped with KM-60 Hall-effect ion thrusters of the Keldysh Research Center. These are designed to operate for more than 4,000 hours and can be ignited up to 8,250 times. They are integrated with a tank (MVSK50) containing 71 kilograms of xenon. It is not clear exactly how many of the thrusters and xenon tanks are on board Olimp.

The fact that Olimp spent so much time near its previous target was a possible indication that it is running low on xenon. However, it does seem to be headed for a new target. If the intention was to place it into a graveyard orbit, one would have expected it to be moved to a position above the geostationary belt, which is not what happened. Olimp is currently at 11.8°W and drifting further eastward.