Author Topic: Soyuz-2.1b/Fregat - Glonass-K2 #13 blok K3s - Plesetsk - August 7 2023 13:19:25 UTC (Read 65856 times)

B. Hendrickx · « **Reply #40 on:** 07/31/2023 05:58 pm »

There is now no doubt left that the payload going up on August 7 is Glonass-K2 N°13L. It was identified as such in a letter written by the commander of the Russian Space Forces (Aleksandr Golovko) to the governor of the Arkhangelsk province. The letter, dated July 7 and placed online on July 25, is available here:
http://www.safronovskoe-adm.ru/zapusk-kosmicheskogo-apparata-glonass-k2.html

Further confirmation that the payload is Glonass-K2 comes in a rocket stage impact warning for residents of a district in the Tyumen province (the impact zone of the core stage).
https://uvatskie.ru/news/media/2023/7/19/zaplanirovan-pusk-raketyi-nositelya-s-kosmicheskim-apparatom-glonass-k2/
They are advised not to enter the impact zone between August 7 and 10.

Impact warnings have also been issued for two districts in the Komi Republic just east of the Arkhangelsk province.
https://komiinform.ru/news/253672
These two districts were specially selected for launches of Glonass-K2, as is clear from environmental impact hearings held in 2019:
https://o-v-o-s.ru/11/1429
https://o-v-o-s.ru/11/1448

Articles in the local press at the time said that the impact zones are needed for the payload fairing.
https://komiinform.ru/news/181217
According to this particular article, one of the districts had already been used as an impact zone in the Soviet days, but was then not used for decades “because the trajectory had changed”. No explanation is given for why it had to be reinstated specifically for Glonass-K2, which like Glonass-M and Glonass-K is launched by the Soyuz-2.1b/Fregat. Possibly, Glonass-K2 requires a new fairing because of its larger size or this has something to do with the higher mass of Glonass-K2. The first-stage impact area does appear to be the standard one for Glonass launches

Alter Sachse · « **Reply #41 on:** 08/02/2023 10:22 am »

NK gives ~14:10 UTC as the launch time.

B. Hendrickx · « **Reply #42 on:** 08/02/2023 11:01 pm »

Also posted on the NK forum: a NOTAM for 3rd stage impact in the Pacific.

Quote

E2383/23 NOTAMN
Q) YMMM/QRDCA/IV/BO/W/000/999/4827S15537E480
A) YMMM
B) 2308071300 C) 2308091600
D) 2308071300 TO 2308071600
2308081300 TO 2308081600
2308091300 TO 2308091600
E) TEMPO DANGER AREA ACT
DUE SPACE DEBRIS FALLING INTO OCEAN WI AREA BOUNDED BY:
4253S14925E, 5238S16300E, 5358S16300E, 4325S14830E, 4253S14925E
MAY IMPACT AIR ROUTES L513 AND M643
CTC CIVIL AVIATION SAFETY AUTHORITY TEL: 02 6217 1177
F) SFC G) UNL
CREATED: 27 Jul 2023 09:48:00
SOURCE: YBBBZEZX

Depicted on a map here:
https://metar-taf.com/nl/notams/YPDA
(attachment 1)

This differs considerably from the standard 3rd stage impact area for Glonass-M/K launches (see attachment 2).

As I mentioned in my previous post, a new impact area has also been selected for the payload fairing. All this indicates that there are slight changes in the launch profile for Glonass-K2.

B. Hendrickx · « **Reply #43 on:** 08/06/2023 09:47 pm »

Not much has been revealed about the design of Glonass-K2, which is not even seen on the website of ISS Reshetnev. To the best of my knowledge, only one drawing of the satellite has ever been published (see attachment 1, where it is compared with Glonass-K).

No pictures of the satellite are available either. All that is seen in some old YouTube videos is a full-scale mock-up of the satellite (which gives a good idea of its considerable size, about twice as high as Glonass-K (6 m versus 3 m)) and a model of the navigation payload that was used for tests in a thermal vacuum chamber.

(see the first 20 seconds)

(see attachment 2 for a screenshot from this video of the mock-up and the navigation payload sitting next to each other)

Some sources claim Glonass-K2 is based on ISS Reshetnev’s Express-1000K or Express-1000A platform, but in a classification of satellite platforms published by ISS Reshetnev in 2017, the platform is identified as KAUR-4N (KAUR stands for "unified satellite series").
The article is here:
https://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=32364963
This is only accessible for registered users of elibrary.ru, but the same classification system is also given in this presentation from 2018:
https://studizba.com/files/show/presentation/6964-lekciya-16-opredelenie-proektno.html

KAUR-4N is one in a series of unpressurized platforms with a so-called “monoblock” design, meaning that the bus and the payload are more closely integrated than in a modular design such as that used by Express. KAUR-1N was the design used by the small satellites Yubileinyy and Mir, KAUR-2N was a design intended for a small remote sensing satellite and KAUR-3N is Glonass-K (contradicting other information that Glonass-K is also based on the Express-1000K platform). According to the KAUR-4N slide in the presentation (see attachment 3), Glonass-K2 could also be launched in trios by the Proton-M/Briz-M, but those plans have clearly been abandoned.

Glonass-K2 nr. 13L and 14L (military index: 14F160) will be the only satellites using this particular design. The next Glonass-K2 satellites (designated 14F170 and beginning with serial number 24L) had to be redesigned to incorporate more Russian-built electronic components (because of the sanctions) and will look significantly different.

In addition to its navigation payload, Glonass-K2 has several secondary payloads:
-a KOSPAS/SARSAT search and rescue transponder
-KSPS-MO: a search and rescue transponder specifically intended for military users
-BAL-K2: a nuclear detection payload
-Ruveta: most likely a signals intelligence payload that will be used to pinpoint the location of foreign military vessels and thus provide targeting data for sea-launched cruise missiles.
More details on the secondary military payloads are here:
https://www.thespacereview.com/article/4502/1

Nuclear detection payloads are also on Glonass-M and Glonass-K and KOSPAS transponders are also carried by Glonass-K. KSPS-MO and Ruveta are payloads unique to Glonass-K2. Ruveta is clearly considered a highly sensitive payload and may very well explain the secrecy surrounding Glonass-K2. It is likely to feature one or more antennas that would be clearly visible in images of the satellite.

The various functions of Glonass-K2 are summed up in a presentation published around 2016/2017:
https://ppt-online.org/1101287
(see attachment 4)

At the time, Glonass-K2/14F160 was scheduled to fly in 2018 and Glonass-K2/14F170 in 2020. Judging from the slide, 14F170 will have exactly the same functions as 14F160:
-navigation
-nuclear detection
-KOSPAS
-course indication (not entirely clear why that is given separately from navigation)
-military search and rescue
-“special equipment” (presumably Ruveta)

Also shown here is Glonass-VKK, a version of Glonass to be placed into inclined geosynchronous orbits and very similar in design to Glonass-K. The current status of Glonass-VKK is unclear.

SpaceFinnOriginal · « **Reply #44 on:** 08/06/2023 11:17 pm »

Is Soyuz serial known?

Salo · « **Reply #45 on:** 08/07/2023 05:58 am »

Liftoff - 13:19 UTC:
https://forum.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/index.php?msg=2575449

B. Hendrickx · « **Reply #46 on:** 08/07/2023 01:32 pm »

https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/18461493

TASS reports liftoff took place at 13.20 UTC.

Satori · « **Reply #47 on:** 08/07/2023 03:07 pm »

According to NK forum, launch took place from LC43 PU-3.

starbase · « **Reply #48 on:** 08/07/2023 04:04 pm »

Launch video and Blok-I reentry footage over Australia in this Twitter thread:

https://twitter.com/nkknspace/status/1688560981042159621

Satori · « **Reply #49 on:** 08/07/2023 05:11 pm »

Launch preparations and launch images from Russiam MoD...

Galactic Penguin SST · « **Reply #50 on:** 08/07/2023 05:23 pm »

Quote from: Satori on 08/07/2023 05:11 pm

Launch preparations and launch images from Russiam MoD...

Seems like a good way to differentiate launches from LC43 PU-3 (this one) and LC43 PU-4 for recent launches is that "43/3" has square-based trapezoidal lightning towers, while "43/4" has triangular based ones.

Galactic Penguin SST · « **Reply #51 on:** 08/07/2023 05:27 pm »

https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/18462805

Satellite separated into target orbit, in contact with ground and is now officially named Kosmos 2569. It also quoted the drop zone letter listed above by Mr. Hendrickx as identification of payload as Uragan-K2.

B. Hendrickx · « **Reply #52 on:** 08/07/2023 07:24 pm »

Quote from: Galactic Penguin SST on 08/07/2023 05:27 pm

https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/18462805

Satellite separated into target orbit, in contact with ground and is now officially named Kosmos 2569. It also quoted the drop zone letter listed above by Mr. Hendrickx as identification of payload as Uragan-K2.

Note that the Ministry of Defense announcements themselves do not reveal the nature of the payload (despite the dual civilian/military nature of Glonass). This is a new policy that was introduced with the previous Glonass launch in November. In this case the silence is particularly absurd because Roscosmos chief Borisov revealed the planned August launch of Glonass-K2 in a meeting with Putin last June (reported by the press at the time) and the precise launch date was given in the letter of the Space Forces commander mentioned here earlier.

Not that this letter was intended for wide public consumption. It appeared on a local website in the Arkhangelsk region on July 25 and did not reach a wider audience until TASS picked it up on July 31 (by the way, this was about an hour after I posted it on the NK forum, most likely not a coincidence). Since it had already reported on the letter, TASS had little choice today but to link today’s launch to Glonass-K2, filling the void left by the MoD announcement. Otherwise it would probably have remained silent on the payload, just as it did after the Glonass-M launch last November.

Salo · « **Reply #53 on:** 08/07/2023 07:52 pm »

Quote from: Salo on 08/07/2023 05:58 am

Liftoff - 13:19 UTC:
https://forum.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/index.php?msg=2575449

13:19:25
https://forum.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/index.php?msg=2575670

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #54 on:** 08/08/2023 02:18 am »

https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1688701218086952962

Quote

The Soyuz 3rd stage from today's Glonass navsat launch reentered SE of Tasmania. Here's the reentry warning area (white) and my estimate of the 3rd stage suborbital track (orange). Yes, I know they don't quite match up, I did a rush and approximate job, but it gives you the idea

nzguy · « **Reply #55 on:** 08/08/2023 03:50 am »

The re-entering Soyuz rocket lit up the Melbourne, Australia skies along with large booms just after midnight local time.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/08/melbournes-mysterious-midnight-comet-most-likely-tonnes-of-incinerating-space-junk

Josh_from_Canada · « **Reply #56 on:** 08/08/2023 03:54 am »

Some views of the launch

catdlr · « **Reply #57 on:** 08/08/2023 09:28 am »

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #58 on:** 08/08/2023 03:07 pm »

https://twitter.com/tskelso/status/1688676928814043139

Quote

CelesTrak has GP data for 2 objects from the launch (2023-114) of COSMOS 2570, a GLONASS-K2 navigation satellite, atop a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from Plesetsk Cosmodrome on Aug 7 at 1320 UTC: tass.com/science/1657613. Data for the launch can be found at: https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/table.php?INTDES=2023-114

Alter Sachse · « **Reply #59 on:** 08/09/2023 12:29 pm »

Roscosmos:
The company "Information Satellite Systems" named after Academician M.F. Reshetnev will present a mock-up of the newest navigation spacecraft "Glonass-K2" at the International Military-Technical Forum "Army-2023" in the joint exposition of the enterprises of the State Corporation "Roscosmos".

Siberian satellite builders will demonstrate their scientific and technical achievements on the example of mock-ups of spacecrafts for various purposes. The mock-up of Glonass-K2, a new generation navigation satellite with enhanced functionality, deserves special attention. Updating the orbital constellation of the Russian global navigation satellite system GLONASS with spacecraft of this series will improve the accuracy of its navigation determinations.