Author Topic: Angara-1.2 - Kosmos 2560 (EO MKA#3) - Plesetsk - 15 October 2022 (19:55 UTC)  (Read 18316 times)

Online zubenelgenubi

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Cross-post:
The Angara-A5DM-03 Persei (71754/2L) launcher set for an Q4 2022/Q1 2023 EKS/Tundra/Kupol launch shipped to Plesetsk on 16 May 2022.

Subscription Paywalled Article: Angara-5 to carry its first satellite
The Angara-1.2/AM (71603?/2L) launcher set for an Q4 2022 Kosmos launch (A1.2/AM second test flight) entered its shipping preparation to Plesetsk on 16 June 2022.

Subscription Paywalled Article: Another Angara-1.2 is planned in 2022
« Last Edit: 10/16/2022 07:54 am by input~2 »
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Offline Vahe231991

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Re: Angara-1.2 - Kosmos 25XX - Plesetsk - Q4 2022
« Reply #1 on: 07/22/2022 11:56 pm »
Cross-post:
Roscosmos showed photos of #Angara1.2 in Khrunichev Center which will be sent to Plesetsk and will perform the last test flight for this type of launch vehicles. Without Z so far, but there’s no fairing on the photo.

https://twitter.com/katlinegrey/status/1549272167078105088

Offline B. Hendrickx

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Re: Angara-1.2 - Kosmos 25XX - Plesetsk - Q4 2022
« Reply #2 on: 10/08/2022 06:49 pm »
An insider on the NK forum wrote yesterday that the next launch of Angara-1.2 is due to take place in a week's time, meaning launch is planned on or around October 14. He said the payload will be EMKA-3, suggesting it will be the same type of short-lived low-orbiting satellite as Kosmos-2551 and 2555. Another insider on the NK forum had already hinted last April that the third satellite of this type would be launched this fall. 


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Re: Angara-1.2 - Kosmos 25XX - Plesetsk - mid October 2022
« Reply #3 on: 10/10/2022 12:25 pm »
Assuming a successful launch in the above timeframe, the satellite should be designated Kosmos 2560.
« Last Edit: 10/10/2022 12:27 pm by zubenelgenubi »
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Online Alter Sachse

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Re: Angara-1.2 - Kosmos 25XX - Plesetsk - mid October 2022
« Reply #4 on: 10/10/2022 02:02 pm »
If I understand the information at NK correctly, the launch takes place Oct 14...Oct 17
between 19:00 and 21:30 UTC
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Offline Galactic Penguin SST

If I understand the information at NK correctly, the launch takes place Oct 14...Oct 17
between 19:00 and 21:30 UTC

Yeah there are several air space closure notices filed in the Arctic and Pacific Oceans that fits with those used for the first Angara A1.2 launch in April

A6271/22 NOTAMN
Q) ENOB/QRDCA/IV/BO /W /000/999/7346N02858E042
A) ENOB B) 2210141900 C) 2210172130
D) DAILY 1900-2130
E) TEMPO DANGER AREA ACTIVATED, PSN: 741400N 0271518E - 742532N
0284515E - 734016N 0300000E - 731225N 0300000E - 730545N 0291110E -
(741400N 0271518E). IMPACT AREA FOR RUSSIAN MISSILES.

SIMILAR ACTIVITIES ARE ALSO PLANNED WITHIN THE UNALLOCATED
INTERNATIONAL AIRSPACE EAST OF REPORTED IMPACT ZONE, PSN: 734016N
0300000E - 731705N 0303530E - 731225N 0300000E - (734016N 0300000E),
AND PSN: 715120N 0320500E - 710230N 0320500E - 714343N 0310800E -
(715120N 0320500E)
F) SFC G) UNL

A4244/22 NOTAMN
Q) KZAK/QRDCA////000/999/
A) KZAK
B) 2210141900
C) 2210172130
D) DLY 1900-2130
E) THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION PLANS TO CONDUCT A MISSLE LAUNCH.
HAZARDOUS AREA 1 WI THE OAKLAND ARTCC OCEANIC FIR IS BOUNDED BY
155725N 1323955W 154545N 1313058W 111820N 1321920W 113022N 1332700W
(TO POINT OF ORIGIN). IN THE INTEREST OF SAFETY ALL
NON-PARTICIPATING AIR TFC ARE ADZ TO AVOID THE NOTAMED AREA. IFR
ACFT UNDER ATC JURISDICTION SHOULD ANTICIPATE CLR AROUND THE NOTAMED
AREA.
F) SFC
G) UNL


A4245/22 NOTAMN
Q) KZAK/QRDCA////000/999/
A) KZAK
B) 2210142230
C) 2210172350
D) DLY 2230-2350
E) THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION PLANS TO CONDUCT A MISSLE LAUNCH.
HAZARDOUS AREA 2 WI THE OAKLAND ARTCC OCEANIC FIR IS BOUNDED BY
403010N 1752145W 400540N 1730355W 330430N 1750800W 332710N 1771340W
(TO POINT OF ORIGIN). IN THE INTEREST OF SAFETY ALL
NON-PARTICIPATING AIR TFC ARE ADZ TO AVOID THE NOTAMED AREA. IFR
ACFT UNDER ATC JURISDICTION SHOULD ANTICIPATE CLR AROUND THE NOTAMED
AREA.
F) SFC
G) UNL
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Offline Rondaz

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Orbital Launch no.139 of 2022

EMKA 3 | Russian Space Force | Oct 14 | 2000 UTC

Russian Space forces of the division of MoD at the #Plesetsk cosmodrome will launch the optical reconnaissance EMKA №3 on Angara-1.2 (the lighter version of #Angara).

https://twitter.com/SpaceIntellige3/status/1580477149068525568

Offline B. Hendrickx

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The infographic in the previous post identifies EMKA-3 as a Zvezda type photographic reconnaissance satellite built by VNIIEM, but this is probably incorrect. As I have explained in other posts, EMKA (“experimental small satellite”) now turns out to be a general cover name for experimental military satellites built by a variety of companies. The first satellite with the EMKA label (identified as such in official documentation) was Kosmos-2525, also known as Razdan-N, which seems to have been originally proposed as a civilian remote sensing satellite under the name Zvezda. This was a product of VNIIEM. Launched by a Soyuz-2-1v in March 2018, it remained in orbit for nearly three years, regularly maneuvered and was most likely a photographic reconnaissance satellite.

The next two satellites with the EMKA label (according to several insiders on the NK forum) were Kosmos-2551 (launched by a Soyuz-2-1v in September 2021) and Kosmos-2555 (launched by Angara 1.2 in April this year). Neither of those maneuvered and they re-entered after just several weeks, a sign that they were of a different type than Kosmos-2525. Also pointing in that direction was the fact that they were identified as EMKA-1 and 2 (rather than 2 and 3). Moreover, the launch of Kosmos-2555 was not mentioned by a VNIIEM representative who gave an overview of the company’s activities in the first half of 2022 (while he did mention a trio of small military VNIIEM satellites scheduled for launch in the second half of the year).  In other words, Kosmos-2551 and 2555 seem to have been built by another company than VNIIEM and there is no evidence they were used for photographic reconnaissance. One source on the NK forum claimed to know for sure that both served as targets for the Peresvet anti-satellite laser system.

All that is known about the payload for tomorrow’s Angara-1.2 launch also comes from insiders on the NK forum. The original plan apparently was to fly several satellites (possibly including one or more dummies) to see how the rocket would behave carrying a maximum payload (this is still considered a test flight for Angara). However, those payloads had not originally been designed to fly on Angara and there was no time to adapt them for Angara and build an adapter to deploy them from the rocket. So it was eventually decided to fly just a single satellite. One of the insiders hinted last April that a satellite of the same type as Kosmos-2551 and 2555 would be orbited this fall. Last week another one identified the payload as EMKA (without adding a number). Based on that, it is most likely the same type of satellite as Kosmos-2551 and 2555.

Impact zones announced for this launch are very similar to those for last April’s launch, with the AM upper stage scheduled to be de-orbited over the Pacific after two revolutions. I’ve attached a possible launch profile that was compiled by Bob Christy based on navigation warnings and observations of last April’s launch.
https://postimg.cc/Jygpv5Bm

On last April’s mission, the Angara dropped the payload in a low 279x294 km orbit, after which the AM stage performed a test burn to raise its apogee to 800 km. It remains to be seen if this will also happen tomorrow. One of the insiders claimed that there would be a difference in the AM flight profile this time, resulting in a different kind of orbit for the satellite. So it is possible that the satellite will be deployed after the AM performs its burn and will therefore end up in a higher orbit than Kosmos-2555. But let’s just wait and see what happens.
 

Offline B. Hendrickx

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Launch was supposed to have taken place at 20.55 UTC, but so far no confirmation that Angara has lifted off. According to one poster on the NK forum, nothing was seen from Petrozavodsk (some 700 km west of Plesetsk) (where it should have been seen). Apparently everything was still OK with five minutes to go in the countdown.

Offline B. Hendrickx

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Correction: launch was set for 19.55 UTC.

Offline B. Hendrickx

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Insider says launch has been scrubbed for today. Another attempt tomorrow at the same time.

Offline russianhalo117

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October 15 (288:19:00:55.xxx) - Kosmos-2560 (EMKA/MKA-EO №3) – Angara-A1.2/AM (17603/2L) – Plesetsk, 35/1
Paywall: http://russianspaceweb.com/protected/angara1-2-flight2.html 

Offline Vahe231991

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Offline B. Hendrickx

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Liftoff confirmed.

Offline Vahe231991

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I would hope that the Kosmos 2560 satellite avoids the failures experienced by the Kosmos 2555 in orbit because the latter spacecraft was assigned to the first orbital launch of the Angara 1.2 variant.
« Last Edit: 10/15/2022 08:54 pm by Vahe231991 »

Offline B. Hendrickx

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Precise liftoff time was 19.55.15.411 UTC. First two stages seem to have worked as expected. Waiting for the burn of the AM upper stage. Most likely, the satellite will be separated after that burn, not before it as during last April's Angara launch. Should end up in a higher orbit than the satellite orbited in April.

Offline input~2

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Offline B. Hendrickx

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https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/16067467

Kosmos-2560 confirmed

Usually that information comes only after the satellite has separated. The NK insider says separation will occur shortly before midnight Moscow time (21.00 UTC). So it looks like the Ministry of Defense has jumped the gun with the announcement of the satellite name.

Offline B. Hendrickx

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I would hope that the Kosmos 2560 satellite avoids the failures experienced by the Kosmos 2255 in orbit because the latter spacecraft was assigned to the first orbital launch of the Angara 1.2 variant.

I suppose you mean Kosmos-2555. It's not because it didn't maneuver that it was a failure. Kosmos-2551 performed exactly the same type of mission last year. It's unlikely both suffered exactly the same failure. This may well have been their intended mission.

Offline russianhalo117

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I would hope that the Kosmos 2560 satellite avoids the failures experienced by the Kosmos 2255 in orbit because the latter spacecraft was assigned to the first orbital launch of the Angara 1.2 variant.

I suppose you mean Kosmos-2555. It's not because it didn't maneuver that it was a failure. Kosmos-2551 performed exactly the same type of mission last year. It's unlikely both suffered exactly the same failure. This may well have been their intended mission.
Per Anatoly Zak's website this is the third and expected final flight of an MKA-EO prototype flight model. They are non propulsive free flyers. Only the first was stated to be a confirmed failure that was likely either dead on arrival or by the second orbit after battery depletion since it per other sources did call home shortly after separation.

https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=56635.msg2419665#msg2419665
« Last Edit: 10/15/2022 09:32 pm by russianhalo117 »

Offline input~2

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https://www.interfax.ru/russia/868039

"Kosmos-2560 was launched in the target orbit"
« Last Edit: 10/15/2022 10:07 pm by input~2 »

Offline B. Hendrickx

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https://www.interfax.ru/russia/868039

"Kosmos-2560 was launched in the target orbit"

"Stable telemetry being received and all systems functioning normally".

Inside information on the NK forum is that the satellite is named EO MKA nr. 3. We can now assume that Kosmos-2551 and 2555 were EO MKA nr. 1 and 2 (not EMKA-2 and 3 as reported earlier). This one has definitely gone into a higher orbit than its predecessors. We'll have to wait for the TLEs.

Offline Rondaz

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Angara launch vehicle launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome.

Ministry of Defense: Angara launch vehicle with military satellite launched from Plesetsk cosmodrome.

23:17 15.10.2022

MOSCOW, October 15 - RIA Novosti. On Saturday, the Angara-1.2 light carrier rocket with a spacecraft was launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the interests of the military, the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters.

"On Saturday at 22.55 Moscow time, combat crews of the space troops of the Russian Aerospace Forces successfully launched an Angara-1.2 light-class carrier rocket with a spacecraft in the interests of the Russian Defense Ministry from the Plesetsk state test cosmodrome," the ministry said.

They specified that all pre-launch operations and the launch of the rocket took place in the normal mode. At 22.58 Moscow time "Angara-1.2" was accepted for escort by ground means of the Main Test Space Center named after G.S. Titov Space Forces.

"The spacecraft has been assigned the serial number Cosmos-2560," the Defense Ministry said.

https://ria.ru/20221015/angara-1824348081.html

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https://twitter.com/tgmetsfan98/status/1581458092197543936

Quote
Lifting off from Plesetsk today, Angara 1.2 has launched a satellite for the Russian military designated Kosmos-2560.

The identity and purpose of the spacecraft are unclear, even prompting questions about previous launches.

By Justin Mooney (@OGNovuh):

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2022/10/angara-kosmos-2560/

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https://twitter.com/tskelso/status/1581445146645700609

Quote
CelesTrak has GP data for 1 object from the launch (2022-135) of COSMOS 2560 atop an Angara-1.2 launch vehicle from Plesetsk Cosmodrome on Oct 15 at 1955 UTC: tass.com/science/1523353.

Offline Galactic Penguin SST

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Offline input~2

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2022-135A/54050 in 328 x 344 kmx 96.35° epoch Oct 16, 02:11 UTC

Offline Rondaz

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Kosmos-2560 has been cataloged in a 328 x 344 km x 96.4 deg sun-sync orbit with 11:30 local time orbital plane. This is a tad higher than the orbit of Kosmos-2555, the previous mission in the series.

https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1581500312061296640

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Angara-1.2 launch vehicle puts military satellite in orbit — Russian Defense Ministry.

The light launch vehicle with the spacecraft blasted off at 22:55 Moscow time on Saturday.

15 OCT, 15:35

MOSCOW, October 16. /TASS/. The Kosmos-2560 satellite launched in interests of the Russian Defense Ministry from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Archangelsk Region using the Angara-1.2 light launch vehicle was successfully put into the target orbit, the Ministry told reporters on Sunday.

The light launch vehicle with the spacecraft blasted off at 22:55 Moscow time on Saturday.

"The Kosmos-2560 spacecraft launched by combat crews of the Space Force of Russia’s Aerospace Forces from the State Test Cosmodrome Plesetsk was placed on the target orbit at the estimated time and was taken for tracking by terrestrial facilities of the Russian Defense Ministry," the Ministry said.

Robust telecommunication is being maintained with the satellite and its onboard systems are functioning normally, the Ministry added.

https://tass.com/science/1523353

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Please, avoiding politics as much as possible, could someone familiar with the language and symbols describe the markings on the vehicle? There appear to be 3 images near the top, two near the bottom, and writing down the side in two places.
I'll start:
- the top image appears to represent the State Flag of the Russian Federation
and:
- the writing in red down the right side of the vehicle appears to represent Angara 1.2.

That leaves 4 images and the writing down the left side of the vehicle.

Thanks in advance for avoiding opinions on any of the markings!
« Last Edit: 10/16/2022 10:52 pm by sdsds »
— 𝐬𝐝𝐒𝐝𝐬 —

Offline russianhalo117

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Please, avoiding politics as much as possible, could someone familiar with the language and symbols describe the markings on the vehicle? There appear to be 3 images near the top, two near the bottom, and writing down the side in two places.
I'll start:
- the top image appears to represent the State Flag of the Russian Federation
and:
- the writing in red down the right side of the vehicle appears to represent Angara 1.2.

That leaves 4 images and the writing down the left side of the vehicle.

Thanks in advance for avoiding opinions on any of the markings!
Khrunichev is the black writing, The Almaz/Salyut logo is Khrunichev's logo, and the red patch is this Angara's mission patch. Russian flag, the Plesetsk Cosmodrome space and missile military patch then the Z patch is geopolitical propaganda.
« Last Edit: 10/16/2022 11:55 pm by russianhalo117 »

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Offline SpaceFinnOriginal

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Khrunichev is the black writing, The Almaz/Salyut logo is Khrunichev's logo, and the red patch is this Angara's mission patch. Russian flag, the Plesetsk Cosmodrome space and missile military patch then the Z patch is geopolitical propaganda.

To me "Khrunichev" text looks like is in dark blue.
And under the Russian flag is Space Forces logo.
« Last Edit: 10/17/2022 04:17 pm by SpaceFinnOriginal »

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https://bmpd.livejournal.com/4599617.html

Mentions 'Razbeg' type.

The author of this article hasn't been keeping track of what's been written about these satellites in recent months. There was indeed speculation that Kosmos-2551 was the first Razbeg, a small optical reconnaissance satellite of VNIIEM. Kosmos-2555 and 2560 are of the same type as 2551, so therefore he concludes that 2560 is Razbeg nr. 3. However, the idea that Kosmos-2551 was Razbeg (which, admittedly, came from me) turned out to be wrong shortly after the satellite was launched. Kosmos-2551, 2555 and 2560 (EO MKA 1, 2 and 3) are not products of VNIIEM. 

Offline B. Hendrickx

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Razbeg (14F156)
http://russianspaceweb.com/spacecraft_military.html

14F156 is the index for Razdan, a big reconnaissance satellite of the Progress Rocket and Space Center. The 14F index for Razbeg is unkown.

Offline russianhalo117

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Razbeg (14F156)
http://russianspaceweb.com/spacecraft_military.html

14F156 is the index for Razdan, a big reconnaissance satellite of the Progress Rocket and Space Center. The 14F index for Razbeg is unkown.
yeah looks like a copy and paste mistake on his page.
« Last Edit: 10/17/2022 07:03 pm by russianhalo117 »

Offline B. Hendrickx

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The payload launched by Angara 1.2 is also called EO MKA in a document published on September 29 by the Russian insurance company Ingosstrakh.
https://raaks.ru/wp-content/uploads/Ingosstrah.-Obzor-strahovaniya-kosmicheskih-riskov-v-Rossii.-2022.pdf
So far the name has only been mentioned by insiders on the NK forum, so it's good to see it confirmed by a more official source.

Offline input~2

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The payload launched by Angara 1.2 is also called EO MKA in a document published on September 29 by the Russian insurance company Ingosstrakh.
https://raaks.ru/wp-content/uploads/Ingosstrah.-Obzor-strahovaniya-kosmicheskih-riskov-v-Rossii.-2022.pdf
So far the name has only been mentioned by insiders on the NK forum, so it's good to see it confirmed by a more official source.

Do you know what "EO" stands for?

Offline B. Hendrickx

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Do you know what "EO" stands for?

"O" could stand for "optical", in which case EO MKA would be deciphered as "experimental optical small satellite". It can't be "electro-optical" because the Russians literally say "optico-electronic", in which case it would be OE MKA. I've seen one article where the abbreviation EOKA is most likely used to refer to NPO Lavochkin's 14F150 satellites (Kosmos-2519/2542/2558 type). These satellites almost certainly carry one or more optical payloads to observe other satellites and the Earth's surface, so EOKA could be "experimental optical satellite". However, there's no evidence so far that Kosmos-2560 and its two predecessors (2551 and 2555) have an optical payload. Another question is why "EO" is written separately from "MKA" if it means "experimental optical".  EO MKA (written separately) is sometimes seen in technical literature in the meaning "experimental testing of a small satellite " (экспериментальная отработка малого космического аппарата), but that doesn't sound like a satellite name. So no, we can't tell for sure right now what EO stands for.

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Khrunichev is the black writing, The Almaz/Salyut logo is Khrunichev's logo, and the red patch is this Angara's mission patch. Russian flag, the Plesetsk Cosmodrome space and missile military patch then the Z patch is geopolitical propaganda.

To me "Khrunichev" text looks like is in dark blue.
And under the Russian flag is Space Forces logo.

More video
focused on the booster

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« Last Edit: 11/04/2022 03:19 pm by Alter Sachse »
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Offline B. Hendrickx

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Do you know what "EO" stands for?

"O" could stand for "optical", in which case EO MKA would be deciphered as "experimental optical small satellite". It can't be "electro-optical" because the Russians literally say "optico-electronic", in which case it would be OE MKA. I've seen one article where the abbreviation EOKA is most likely used to refer to NPO Lavochkin's 14F150 satellites (Kosmos-2519/2542/2558 type). These satellites almost certainly carry one or more optical payloads to observe other satellites and the Earth's surface, so EOKA could be "experimental optical satellite". However, there's no evidence so far that Kosmos-2560 and its two predecessors (2551 and 2555) have an optical payload. Another question is why "EO" is written separately from "MKA" if it means "experimental optical".  EO MKA (written separately) is sometimes seen in technical literature in the meaning "experimental testing of a small satellite " (экспериментальная отработка малого космического аппарата), but that doesn't sound like a satellite name. So no, we can't tell for sure right now what EO stands for.

A more plausible explanation for the abbreviation EO MKA is that it stands for “prototype of a small satellite”. “EO” is an abbreviation of “eksperimentalnyy obrazets” (экспериментальный образец), which literally means something like  “experimental sample”, but is usually translated as “prototype”. It is a standard term for one of three types of hardware that can be produced as part of the research phase (“NIR”) of a project, the other two being “mock-up” (макет) and “model” (модель). EO is defined as hardware having “characteristics of the final product” with the aim of “testing the proposed solutions” and “refining certain characteristics” during the design of that product. An EO has the same size as the final product and is considered a “functionally finished product suitable for testing”. See, for instance, this document, which explains the various terms used for the NIR phase of a project:

http://www.rd.uniyar.ac.ru/upload/rd/nir/GOST_15_101_98.pdf

If “EO” stands for “prototype”, the fact that it is written separately from “MKA” would make sense. This explanation for “EO” is also consistent with the information from Anatoly Zak’s paywalled article on Kosmos-2560 that was quoted here earlier:

Quote
Per Anatoly Zak's website this is the third and expected final flight of an MKA-EO prototype flight model. They are non propulsive free flyers. Only the first was stated to be a confirmed failure that was likely either dead on arrival or by the second orbit after battery depletion since it per other sources did call home shortly after separation.

So indications are that the three EO MKA missions (Kosmos-2551, 2555 and 2560) are part of the research phase of a project and are aimed at testing a prototype version of a future satellite. This may explain why three of them could be launched in relatively quick succession (they aren’t fully equipped satellites) and also why they don’t have propulsion systems. Possibly, they are needed for tests of other on-board systems that don’t require the propulsive capability and can be completed in a relatively short of period of time (hence the short lifetimes).  That doesn’t exclude the possibility that the operational versions of these satellites will be maneuverable.





Online Alter Sachse

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Offline Svetoslav

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So... the orbit appears to be lower... Is there evidence that the satellite successfully raised the orbit on its own?

Offline russianhalo117

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So... the orbit appears to be lower... Is there evidence that the satellite successfully raised the orbit on its own?
Upthread:
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=56635.msg2427667#msg2427667

Offline Rondaz

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Obj. 54050 COSMOS 2560 decay prediction: December 10, 2022 UTC 08h45mn ± 27h

https://twitter.com/jremis/status/1600046579678953473

Offline Rondaz

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Update: obj. 54050 COSMOS 2560 decay prediction: December 09, 2022 UTC 20h29mn ± 21h

https://twitter.com/jremis/status/1600066435975241728

Offline Rondaz

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Update: obj. 54050 COSMOS 2560 decay prediction: December 09, 2022 UTC 19h31mn ± 9h

https://twitter.com/jremis/status/1600793381353193472

Offline Rondaz

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Update: obj. 54050 COSMOS 2560 decay prediction: December 09, 2022 UTC 23h34mn ± 5h

https://twitter.com/jremis/status/1601158379350953985

Offline Rondaz

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Update: obj. 54050 COSMOS 2560 decay prediction: December 10, 2022 UTC 01h59mn ± 2h

https://twitter.com/jremis/status/1601360099062476800

Offline Rondaz

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The Russian military sat Kosmos-2560, launched in October, reentered on Dec 10 at 0154 UTC over Guam. Like the previous satellite it the series, it performed no orbit raising burns.

https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1601740380722044928

 

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