Tselina () were a series of military

SIGINT Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is the act and field of intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly u ...

satellites originally developed in the former Soviet Union and used in the past Russian military. These satellites could pinpoint the exact location of objects emitting radio signals. They could even identify the type of emitter, its operational modes, and its activity level. This function proved valuable for detecting potential military operations by monitoring increased radio communication activity. By providing early warning of such activity, Tselina offered valuable intel that might not have been obtainable through other means.

Variants

Initially divided into "Overview" (Tselina-O) and "Detailed" (Tselina-D), since about 1980 the system has been integrated into a single satellite, Tselina-P, which is also known as Tselina-2. The system's primary subject was enemy's radar equipment. Tselina had been numbered as part of the

Kosmos Cosmos generally refers to an orderly or harmonious system. Cosmos or Kosmos may also refer to: Space * ''Cosmos 1'', a privately funded solar sail spacecraft project * Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS), a Hubble Space Telescope Treasury Project ...

series. In total 130 Tselina satellites were launched. * Tselina-O satellites were launched using

Kosmos-3M The Kosmos-3M ( meaning "''Cosmos''", GRAU index 11K65M) was a Russian space launch vehicle, member of the Kosmos (rocket family), Kosmos rocket family. It was a liquid-fueled two-stage launch vehicle, first launched in 1967 and with over 420 s ...

rockets. * Tselina-D used the

Vostok-2M The Vostok-2M (), GRAU index: 8A92M was an expendable launch system, expendable launch vehicle, carrier rocket used by the Soviet Union between 1964 and 1991. Ninety-three were launched, of which one failed. Another was destroyed before launch. I ...

and later the

Tsyklon-3 The Tsyklon-3, also known as Tsiklon-3 and Cyclone-3 (known as SL-14 by the United States DoD), GRAU index 11K68, was a Soviet, and subsequently Ukrainian orbital carrier rocket. Overview Tsyklon-3 launching a Meteor-3 satellite at left A ...

. * Four upgraded Tselina-Ds, named Tselina-R, were also launched using the Tsyklon. * Tselina-2 satellites were designed for launch on

Zenit-2 The Zenit-2 was a Ukrainian, previously Soviet, expendable carrier rocket. First flown in 1985, it has been launched 37 times, with 6 failures. It is a member of the Zenit family of rockets and was designed by the Yuzhmash. History With 13� ...

launch vehicles, however the first two launches used the larger

Proton-K The Proton-K, also designated Proton 8K82K after its GRAU index or SL-12 after its model number, was a Russian, previously Soviet, carrier rocket derived from the earlier Proton. It was built by Khrunichev, and launched from sites 81/23, 8 ...

/ DM-2 as the Zenit was still undergoing development. The most recent launch used the modernised

Zenit-2M The Zenit-2M, Zenit-2SB, Zenit-2SLB or Zenit-2FG was a Ukrainian expendable carrier rocket derived from the Zenit-3SL. It was a member of the Zenit family of rockets, which were designed by the Yuzhmash. Development The Zenit 2M was a mo ...

launch vehicle.

References

{{Tselina Reconnaissance satellites of the Soviet Union Reconnaissance satellites of Russia Signals intelligence satellites Military equipment introduced in the 1970s