Elektro–L
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Elektro–L () is a series of meteorological satellites developed for the
Russian Federal Space Agency The State Corporation for Space Activities "Roscosmos", commonly known simply as Roscosmos (), is a state corporation of the Russian Federation responsible for space flights, cosmonautics programs, and aerospace research. Originating from ...
by
NPO Lavochkin NPO Lavochkin (, OKB-301, also called Lavochkin Research and Production Association or shortly Lavochkin Association, LA) is a Russian aerospace company. It is a major player in the Russian space program, being the developer and manufacturer of t ...
. The first satellite, Elektro-L No.1, was launched on 2 January 2011. It is the first Russian weather satellite that successfully operates in
geostationary orbit A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular orbit, circular geosynchronous or ...
, and is currently the second operational Russian weather satellite. The satellites have a mass of about 1620 kg and are designed to operate for 10 years each. They are capable of producing images of the Earth's whole hemisphere in both visible and infrared frequencies, providing data for climate change and ocean monitoring in addition to their primary weather forecasting role.


Development

Elektro–L was developed by the company
NPO Lavochkin NPO Lavochkin (, OKB-301, also called Lavochkin Research and Production Association or shortly Lavochkin Association, LA) is a Russian aerospace company. It is a major player in the Russian space program, being the developer and manufacturer of t ...
and financed from the Russian Federal Space Program 2006–2015. The satellites will be operated by and provide data for
Roscosmos The State Corporation for Space Activities "Roscosmos", commonly known simply as Roscosmos (), is a State corporation (Russia), state corporation of the Russian Federation responsible for space science, space flights, List of space agencies, c ...
, Scientific Research Center of Space Hydrometeorology "Planeta" and for the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring of Russia (Roshydromet). Elektro–L's predecessor was the Elektro 1 satellite which was launched in 1994. Like Elektro–L, it was also designed to operate in geostationary orbit, but never became fully operational. Along with the earlier Meteor-M series, Elekto–L satellites are part of Russia's aim to restore its weather satellite network. Before the launch of Elektro–L No.1, Russia had only one operational weather satellite in orbit: Meteor-M No.1, operating in an 830-km circular
Sun-synchronous orbit A Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), also called a heliosynchronous orbit, is a nearly polar orbit around a planet, in which the satellite passes over any given point of the planet's surface at the same local mean solar time. More technically, it is ...
. Due to lack of satellites, Russia is forced to use meteorological data provided by American and
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an meteorological services. Aerospace journalist Anatoly Zak wrote that the launch of the first Elektro–L satellite marked the "re-emergence of Russia's space industry after two decades of economic turmoil", as the spacecraft and its standardised ''Navigator'' platform were both conceived and developed after the disintegration of the Soviet Union.


Purpose

The Elektro–L satellites are capable of providing weather analysis and
forecasting Forecasting is the process of making predictions based on past and present data. Later these can be compared with what actually happens. For example, a company might Estimation, estimate their revenue in the next year, then compare it against the ...
both for the territory of Russia and worldwide. The satellites are able to image the entire hemisphere of
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
in visible and
infrared Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...
frequencies, additionally providing data on
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
, as well as sea and ocean monitoring. An Elektro–L satellite can also be used to receive and relay COSPAS-SARSAT emergency signals. The addition of Elektro–L No.1 to Russia's weather satellite network is expected to make Russian weather forecasts more precise.


Spacecraft

The satellites have a mass of about 1620 kg, with the payload mass being 435 kg. Their operational lifetime is expected to be 10 years. The mean power consumption of the spacecraft is 700 W, which is satisfied by
solar panel A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce excited electrons when exposed to light. These electrons flow through a circuit and produce direct ...
s providing 1.7 kW of power. Elektro–L has a modular design, consisting of a payload and a service module. The service module, called
Navigator A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's prim ...
and developed by
NPO Lavochkin NPO Lavochkin (, OKB-301, also called Lavochkin Research and Production Association or shortly Lavochkin Association, LA) is a Russian aerospace company. It is a major player in the Russian space program, being the developer and manufacturer of t ...
, is a standardised platform which will also serve as the basis for future Russian satellites, including for space telescope Spektr-R. The spacecraft's MSU-GS imaging system is able to provide a resolution of 1 km per pixel for the two visible bands and 4 km for eight infrared bands (ranging from 800 nm to 11,500 nm). They will normally take images every 30 minutes, but in case of emergencies, the interval can be shortened to 10 minutes. The camera is an optical-mechanical scanner, sampling the visible bands at 12,576 pixels per line. Sensor data downlink to Ground Acquisition and Distribution Center uses a X-band (7.5 GHz) frequency and has a data rate of 2.56-15.36 Mbits per second, while exchange of data between regional centers in X-band (at 8.2 and 7.5 GHz) offers data rates of up to 15.36 Mbit/s.


Launches


Elektro-L No.1

The first spacecraft of the series, Elektro-L No.1, was launched at 15.29 Moscow Time (12:29 GMT) on 20 January 2011 from Pad 45 at
Baikonur Cosmodrome The Baikonur Cosmodrome is a spaceport operated by Russia within Kazakhstan. Located in the Kazakh city of Baikonur, it is the largest operational space launch facility in terms of area. All Russian Human spaceflight, crewed spaceflights are l ...
. The launch vehicle used was a Zenit-2SB, developed by the Ukrainian Yuzhnoe Design Bureau. The rocket's third stage was a newly developed Fregat-SB, a variation of the baseline Fregat, developed by Russia's
NPO Lavochkin NPO Lavochkin (, OKB-301, also called Lavochkin Research and Production Association or shortly Lavochkin Association, LA) is a Russian aerospace company. It is a major player in the Russian space program, being the developer and manufacturer of t ...
. At 15.37, the second stage separated and the Fregat-SB continued lifting the spacecraft into geostationary orbit. The satellite separated from the upper stage at 00.28 on 21 January. On 21 January,
Roscosmos The State Corporation for Space Activities "Roscosmos", commonly known simply as Roscosmos (), is a State corporation (Russia), state corporation of the Russian Federation responsible for space science, space flights, List of space agencies, c ...
announced that the spacecraft was fully operational. "We have completed the first series of the testing. The spacecraft is fully operational", Deputy Head Anatoly Shilov said. The satellite's final orbital position in geostationary orbit is 159.1 degrees east longitude.


Elektro-L No.2

The next satellite in the series, Elektro-L No.2, initially slated for launch in 2013, was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on 11 December 2015 at 13:45 UTC. The launch vehicle was a Zenit-3F with Fregat-SB upper stage. It was the rocket's 83rd and possibly last flight.


Elektro-L No.3

The third satellite in the series Elektro-L No.3, was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on 24 December 2019 at 12:03 UTC by a Proton-M rocket. This satellite's orbit can be tracked a
uphere.space


Elektro-L No.4

The fourth satellite in the series Elektro-L No.4, was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on 5 February 2023 at 09:12 UTC by a Proton-M rocket.


References


External links


Video (24:21) - Planet Earth from Space
- viewed from geostationary " Elektro-L" weather satellite (timelapse - October, 2011 to March, 2012).

- Details about MSU-GS camera system (in Russian). {{DEFAULTSORT:Elektro-L Weather satellites of Russia Satellite series Earth imaging satellites lv:Elektro-L