Loutch-5A and Loutch-5B

[Fuji]

Relay Satellites Produced by Reshetnev ISS to Strengthen Russian Positions in Space
:: 20.10.2010

Integration of Loutch-5A spacecraft is ongoing at Informational Satellite Systems company of Zheleznogorsk, Vesti.ru reports. This unique relay satellite will strengthen positions of Russia in space.
Loutch-5A will be featured by unique technologies, with the ever-best signal acquisition capability. The spacecraft is fully produced by ISS with national components– the company used to purchase off-the-shelf components before. Solar arrays are super-powerful, also produced in Russia.
The satellite will be injected into geo-polar orbit to see all low-orbiting satellites which are not always available for the Mission Control Centers. The relay satellite will be capable of transmitting data from any other spacecraft. It will be effective for agriculture, military, weather forecast and other services, including President’s communication links, as well as communication with the International Space Station.
Loutch-5A is slated for launch in mid 2011. It’s follower, Loutch-5B, is to fly in late 2011. The most powerful spacecraft in the system, Loutch-4, is to be orbited in 2013.

http://www.federalspace.ru/main.php?id=2&nid=10617

[eeergo]

The link you provided goes to some news about Titan's ice stones
On the press release: is it talking about the Luch satellites or some other system?

[Space Pete]

The link you provided goes to some news about Titan's ice stones
On the press release: is it talking about the Luch satellites or some other system?

Try this link: www.roscosmos.ru/main.php?id=2&nid=10617&lang=en

[Danderman]

The satellite will be injected into geo-polar orbit

 

The Russian word used for this is: "геополярная", which I have never seen before. The Russian article does say the orbit is 35,000 km, which is really geosynchronous.

[eeergo]

The link you provided goes to some news about Titan's ice stones
On the press release: is it talking about the Luch satellites or some other system?

Try this link: www.roscosmos.ru/main.php?id=2&nid=10617&lang=en

Thanks for that. It appears reasonable the "Loutch" transliteration is the same as the usual "Luch" (also named 5A and 5B, dates of launch... the intended orbit is non-polar, as has been mentioned, but perhaps another mis-translation?)

[B. Hendrickx]

There was a pretty interesting article on the new-generation Luch satellites last year in the online newsletter of Information Satellite Systems. The author is the satellites' chief designer Sergei Roskin :

http://www.npopm.ru/images/File/magazin/2009/m7-screen.pdf
(see p. 8-11)

The original plan (according to the Federal Space Programme approved in 2005) was to launch only Luch-5A and Luch-5B (both using the Express-1000 bus), which will be stationed at 16°W (over the Atlantic) and 95°E (over the Indian Ocean). However, in 2008 it was decided to build an additional, more capable satellite (Luch-4), which will use the Express-2000 bus. This was related to Putin's 2007 decision to build a new cosmodrome at Vostochnyy in the Russian Far East. Rockets launched from Vostochnyy will fly almost their entire trajectory over the Pacific. Therefore, Luch-4 will be stationed at 167°E (over the Pacific), among other things to relay telemetry from rockets launched from the new cosmodrome. The design lifetime for Luch 5A and 5B is ten years and for Luch 4 twelve years.

[JimO]

It will be good to see the cosmonauts get this capability back.

In the years of the Shuttle-Mir program there apparently was still one old Luch that was functional, but owned by the Russian defense ministry. I was told that for very important events it could be rented by the Russian Space Agency for an incredibly high price -- somebody guessed $10,000 per minute -- so was rarely resorted to. Not long afterwards it, too, broke.

Can anybody clarify or correct this old rumor, in light of the plans to resume Luch operations?

[Stan Black]

Here's details of Altair 15L - an improved model without a rocket to launch it

http://www.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=11087

[Danderman]

It will be good to see the cosmonauts get this capability back.

In the years of the Shuttle-Mir program there apparently was still one old Luch that was functional, but owned by the Russian defense ministry. I was told that for very important events it could be rented by the Russian Space Agency for an incredibly high price -- somebody guessed $10,000 per minute -- so was rarely resorted to. Not long afterwards it, too, broke.

Can anybody clarify or correct this old rumor, in light of the plans to resume Luch operations?

All I can say is that I was at TsUP while the Luch-1 sat was still operational, and it was clear that TsUP was not using Luch, they were using the ground network.

[Danderman]

Here's details of Altair 15L - an improved model without a rocket to launch it

http://www.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=11087

This is now a museum piece, located at the Popov Museum of Radio, in St Pete:

http://www.rustelecom-museum.ru/main/?langID=58

[Gorizont]

This is the first version of the Luch-satellites.
Its first launch was in 1985 and this is one of the remaining not launched ones.
Information can also be found on G. Krebs´ webpage:
http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/luch.htm

greetings...
Soeren

PS.: I also found them at NK-forum, but some more photos would be nice!
I try to build scale-models of this and other soviet satellites.

[Stan Black]

		Start	Abandoned	Orbital Name
11F669 Altair	11L	25-10-1985	1986	Kosmos 1700
	12L	26-11-1987	1993	Kosmos 1897
	13L	16-12-1994	1997	Luch
	14L	27-12-1989		Kosmos 2054
	15L		2003
Gelios	12L	11-10-1995	1999	Luch-1

Gelios featured increased service life from 2 to 5 years.

http://www.videocosmos.com/magazine/nk0799.html
http://www.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/content/numbers/214/21.shtml
http://www.iss-reshetnev.com/images/File/magazin/2009/m7-screen_en.pdf

[Danderman]

http://www.federalspace.ru/main.php?id=2&nid=10769

Production of the Loutch-5A spacecraft has been almost completed at Informational Satellite Systems company of Zheleznogorsk, Interfax reports, quoting company’s DG Nikolay Testoyedov.
According to Testoyedov, the production is in its last phase, with the goal to launch the Loutch together with Israeli AMOS-5 in mid 2011. It’s follower, Loutch-5B, is to fly in late 2011. The most powerful spacecraft in the system, Loutch-4, is to be orbited in 2013.
Loutch-5A will be injected into geo-polar orbit to see all low-orbiting satellites which are not always available for the Mission Control Centers. The relay satellite will be capable of transmitting data from any other spacecraft. It will be effective for agriculture, military, weather forecast and other services, including President’s communication links, as well as communication with the International Space Station.