Prognoz, also known as SO (Solar Object, first three satellites), SO-M (SO-modified, next seven satellites), and SO-M2 (last two satellites, also known as

Interball Interbol () is an international space project under the leadership of the Russian Space Agency and the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The list of participants includes the Institute of Atmospheric Research of the Czech ...

), was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

scientific research satellite programme. Twelve Prognoz satellites were launched between 14 April 1972, and 29 August 1996, by

Molniya-M The Molniya-M (, GRAU index: 8K78M) was a Soviet and Russian launch vehicle derived from the R-7 Semyorka Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The original 8K78 booster had been the product of a rushed development program and its launc ...

carrier rockets. The satellites were placed in

high Earth orbit A high Earth orbit is a geocentric orbit with an apsis, apogee farther than that of the geosynchronous orbit, which is height above mean sea level, away from Earth. In this article, the non-standard abbreviation of ''HEO'' is used for high Ear ...

s. The first ten Prognoz satellites were launched from

Site 31/6 Baikonur Site 31, also designated as Site 31/6, is a launch complex at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It serves as a key launch site, supporting Soyuz-2 launches for both crewed and uncrewed missions. The site was first utilized on 14 ...

at the

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 ...

, and the last two from Site 43/3 at the

Plesetsk Cosmodrome Plesetsk Cosmodrome () is a Russian spaceport located in Mirny, Arkhangelsk Oblast, near the town of Plesetsk, from which it takes its name. Until 2025 and the commissioning of the Andøya Space, Andøya base in Norway, it was the only operati ...

. The satellites were primarily used for

Solar Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...

research; however, the later satellites were used for other kinds of research, including research into the

Big Bang The Big Bang is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models based on the Big Bang concept explain a broad range of phenomena, including th ...

theory, and Earth's

magnetosphere In astronomy and planetary science, a magnetosphere is a region of space surrounding an astronomical object in which charged particles are affected by that object's magnetic field. It is created by a celestial body with an active interior Dynamo ...

.Encyclopedia Astronautica - Prognoz
The tenth satellite was used as part of the

Interkosmos Interkosmos () was a Soviet space program, designed to help the Soviet Union's allies with Human spaceflight, crewed and Uncrewed spacecraft, uncrewed space missions. The program was formed in April 1967 in Moscow. All members of the program fr ...

programme.

Satellites

References

Earth observation satellites of the Soviet Union 4MV {{USSR-spacecraft-stub

Satellites

See also

References