Soyuz 2.1a/Fregat-M | Meridian-M No.18
Russian Space Forces · Soyuz 2.1a Fregat-M · 43/4 (43R), Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation
Russian Space Forces's 104th launch · 3rd this year · humanity's 5,871st orbital launch attempt
The launch vehicle successfully inserted its payload(s) into the target orbit(s).
Window: Jul 30, 05:00 – Jul 30, 08:00 UTC
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Meridian-M No.18
The Meridian series of communications satellites is reported to be the replacement for all the Molniya-1T, the Molniya-3 and Molniya-3K satellite series and possibly also for the communication component of the Parus. They are launched into highly eccentric Molniya-orbits. Meridian is the highly eccentric orbit (HEO) component of the Integrated Satellite Communications System (ISSS), where they work in conjunction with the geostationary Raduga-1M (Globus-M) satellites. The bus structure is reportedly pressurized, possibly based on the Uragan-M bus. Meridian satellites carry three transponders operating in different frequency bands.
Communications · Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
Booster
No booster details available.
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Pad — 43/4 (43R)
Local pad time: Jul 30, 8:57 AM GMT+3
329 launches from this pad · 1,686 from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation
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