https://twitter.com/RussianSpaceWeb/status/1134470859765231618QuoteRussian Minister of Defense: Two upgraded Meridian-M military communications satellites to be launched before the end of 2019.
Russian Minister of Defense: Two upgraded Meridian-M military communications satellites to be launched before the end of 2019.
Here is some new information on military satellites being developed by ISS Reshetnev.MERIDIAN-MThere is a significant amount of procurement documentation on Russias government procurement website that is based on a contract signed between the Ministry of Defense and ISS Reshetnev on 29 March 2016 (contract number 1619187308361452246001779). The documentation does not mention a project name, but one of the documents refers to an on-board radio complex called 14R57 (Tsitron). It is known from other sources that this is the on-board radio complex of the Meridian satellites. Therefore, it looks like the contract signed in March 2016 is for the modified Meridian-M (14F112M) satellites. According to a TASS report last May four Meridian-M satellites were ordered in 2017 (which somehow does not correspond with the contract date). The report quoted ISS Reshetnev director Testoyedov as saying the first one would be finished in late 2018, the second in 2019, the third in 2020 and the fourth in 2022. Defense minister Shoigu said the two first would be launched before the end of 2019.https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/6495532These are the Meridian satellites with serial numbers 18 to 21. Nr. 18 was launched on 30 July and recently published tender documentation for the transportation to Plesetsk of nr. 19 shows its launch can be expected shortly.
Quote from: zubenelgenubi on 12/15/2019 08:57 pmWill there be any more orbital launches, other than 1 Proton and the last Rokot, before the New Year's and Russian Orthodox Christmas holidays?Rogozin said 3 launches including launch from CSG obviously.
Will there be any more orbital launches, other than 1 Proton and the last Rokot, before the New Year's and Russian Orthodox Christmas holidays?
The NK forum lists the unidentified Soyuz launch from Plesetsk in January 2020 as for the ninth Meridian-M satellite, not earlier than the end of January:http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/messages/forum21/topic16307/message1927031/#message1927031
The next launch of the Meridian-M spacecraft is scheduled for January 2020, "said Golovko.
Start delayed indefinitely. A space rocket will be removed from the launch complex and returned to the assembly and test building. The problem was not in the launch complex systems, but in the third stage of the Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicle.
"The specialists in Plesetsk were not able to pinpoint the cause of the malfunction in the cable network of the third stage of the Soyuz-2 rocket, so it was decided to deliver a new third stage to the cosmodrome," the source said.According to him, in this regard, the launch is tentatively scheduled for February 20. Accordingly, the launch scheduled for February 28 from the Plesetsk navigation satellite Glonass-M had to be moved around March 15, the source added.