Soyuz 2.1a | Kosmos 2556 (Bars-M No. 3)
Russian Space Forces · Soyuz 2.1a · 43/4 (43R), Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation
Russian Space Forces's 124th launch · 5th this year · humanity's 6,238th orbital launch attempt
The launch vehicle successfully inserted its payload(s) into the target orbit(s).
Window: May 19, 07:30 – May 19, 10:00 UTC
Flight preview
Kosmos 2556 (Bars-M No. 3)
Bars-M is the second incarnation of the Bars project, which was started in the mid 1990ies to develop a successor for the Komtea class of area surveillance satellites. The original Bars project was halted in the early 2000s. In 2007, TsSKB-Progress was contracted for Bars-M, for which reportedly the Yantar-based service module was replaced by a new developed advanced service module. The Bars-M satellites feature an electro-optical camera system called Karat, which is developed and built by the Leningrad Optical Mechanical Association (LOMO), and a dual laser altimeter instrument to deliver topographic imagery, stereo images, altimeter data and high-resolution images with a ground resolution around 1 meter.
Government/Top Secret · Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO)
Booster
No booster details available.
Watch
No webcast announced yet.
