Author Topic: First Soyuz-2.1b launch from Plesetsk (Read 40481 times)

avitek · « **Reply #20 on:** 07/27/2008 07:21 pm »

Quote from: Stephan on 07/27/2008 06:58 pm

I have this one : mms://video.rfn.ru/rtr-vesti/141447.asf
(but I don't speak russian)

Comes from this article :
http://www.vesti.ru/cnews.html?id=197051

Only two items from the commentary are worth of quote:

max. payload of rocket is 7.5 metric tonnes
max useful lifetime of this satelllite is between 5 and 7 years.

pm1823 · « **Reply #21 on:** 07/27/2008 08:34 pm »

Quote

max. payload of rocket is 7.5 metric tonnes

Not on retrograde SSO with 98.3 degs, this payload max. was more like 6.5t

input~2 · « **Reply #22 on:** 07/28/2008 07:44 am »

Today's edition of the Russian newspaper "Kommersant" has an article in English on the payload, indicating an image resolution of "less than 30 cm" for Persona-N1. The Russian version has more history on Russian reconnaissance satellites.

Nicolas PILLET · « **Reply #23 on:** 07/28/2008 06:50 pm »

When was the last utilisation of this launch pad ?

Mighty-T · « **Reply #24 on:** 07/29/2008 09:05 am »

Quote from: Nicolas PILLET on 07/28/2008 06:50 pm

When was the last utilisation of this launch pad ?

according to my notes on 24th December 2006 for a Soyuz ST (2.1) for a russian national mission too.

pm1823 · « **Reply #25 on:** 07/29/2008 05:56 pm »

http://rutube.ru/tracks/879919.html?v=56a5cf56f778a66282f1b1421a3654b2

satcomuk · « **Reply #26 on:** 07/30/2008 09:46 pm »

Last night , just three days after launch , Objects A and b passed over the UK.
Object B , at low elevation , came zipping by at quite a pace as it is only 250km or so high , Object A , the payload was some minutes later and by then the cloud had thickened.However I managed to catch a few frames of this fast moving target at a range of about 240km.
( Orbit height 220 km )

I have put a short description , plus images on my website
http://satcom.website.orange.co.uk/ ( Just press the Recent Obs tag )

From my fleeting view of the satellite it looks like Cosmos 2441 is a typical barrel type design with solar array each side of the optical tube , rather like Hubble.....and similar to USA 129 ( Image on the Home Page )
I estimate it to be five metres or so in length.

These details are of course based on my very limited imaging and I would welcome any thoughts/comments from list members .

At the top of the same page there is also a recent image of IGS 1B , taken on July 18.

John

Danderman · « **Reply #27 on:** 07/31/2008 12:15 am »

Hey, if you could get us a good image of Cosmos 382, that would be great.

satcomuk · « **Reply #28 on:** 07/31/2008 05:49 am »

I would love to , but even though it is so big it never comes closer than about 2500 km which means I would see very little , if any , detail

satcomuk · « **Reply #29 on:** 07/31/2008 07:37 am »

BTW see Craig Cavaults report about the launch

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story.jsp?id=news/PERS07298.xml&headline=Russia%20Launches%20Persona%20Milsat&channel=comm

Looks like I saw something totally different !
Unless the panels are still in the launch position , tucked alongside the tube waiting to be unfurled , what I saw didnt have a span of 15m .I may be a couple of metres out with the length , but not the span.

So.....is Object "A" a dummy...and "B" the payload

I have attached a couple of frames taken seconds apart....judge for yourself ....and answers on a postcard please

John

LeVent · « **Reply #30 on:** 07/31/2008 09:08 am »

Quote from: satcomuk on 07/31/2008 07:37 am

BTW see Craig Cavaults report about the launch

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story.jsp?id=news/PERS07298.xml&headline=Russia%20Launches%20Persona%20Milsat&channel=comm

Looks like I saw something totally different !

This is not Persona. This Resurs-P satellite project.

Persona - a big secret :-)

satcomuk · « **Reply #31 on:** 07/31/2008 10:54 am »

Excellent Le Vent , thanks for clearing that up

" Persona - a big secret :-) "

Perhaps not any more

After reading Craigs report I went back and did my maths again.
The object in my image is about 7 arc secs in length....so perhaps
the satellite is a little longer than I first thought. . . .say 7 to 8 metres rather than 5.
However I have no idea how big the fairing was.....but the weight factor ties in with something up to 8 metres.

John

LeVent · « **Reply #32 on:** 07/31/2008 11:01 am »

fairing "Persona"(left) "Resurs-DK1"(right)

LeVent · « **Reply #33 on:** 07/31/2008 11:05 am »

fairing 81KS

satcomuk · « **Reply #34 on:** 07/31/2008 11:11 am »

Brilliant...Thanks again

John

satcomuk · « **Reply #35 on:** 07/31/2008 11:20 am »

It is interesting that Craig says in his article....

" The Resurs DK1, which is almost identical in appearance to the Persona configuration "

Obviously , it isn't !
Perhaps that is why the DK1 was on public display....and not the Persona

John

Satori · « **Reply #36 on:** 07/31/2008 11:21 am »

That looks like a very good quality photo of the Persona fairing. Do you have any more of those?

Phillip Clark · « **Reply #37 on:** 07/31/2008 11:32 am »

Bearing in mind that the Soyuz-2/1B is credited with an LEO payload capability of about 8.5 tonnes, I wonder if Craig Covault could please explain how it managed to launch a "15 ton" Persona satellite? I would believe a horrendous mistranslation of "15 tons" having been "15,000 pounds" (since the Americans only think in imperial units!), which converts to about 6,800 kg. A capability to launch ~8.5 tonnes to a due east LEO would reasonably scale to ~7 tonnes to SSO.

I am not convinced that the satellite looks too much like the Resurs-DK 1 satellite. They probably share the same propulsion/instrument module which has been common to most of the Yantar satellites (and which was also used as a stand-alone Ikar upper stage for the original GlobalStar launches). John's image and original reconstruction are consistent with this being topped by the optical system and cylindrical shroud which we saw on the two Araks satellites and then the long axes of the two vanes of solar panels being parallel with the long axis of the satellite.

satcomuk · « **Reply #38 on:** 07/31/2008 12:26 pm »

This was my original concept drawing.....after looking at the images I captured....perhaps it is a little nearer the mark than the one on my webpage as regards the optical tube.

John

osiossim · « **Reply #39 on:** 07/31/2008 02:22 pm »

Resurs-DK1 have several documents on the net, by Federal Space Agency. Is there any about Persona?

So we can clarify...