Ground facilities of the Military Space Forces (VKS) took control of a spacecraft launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome. This was announced on Saturday, February 5, in the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
“The spacecraft, launched in the interests of the Russian Ministry of Defense by the combat crew of the Aerospace Forces from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region, was launched into the target orbit at the estimated time and accepted for control of ground assets of the Space Forces of the Aerospace Forces,” the department told reporters.
A stable telemetry connection has been established and maintained with the spacecraft, the onboard systems of the spacecraft are operating in the normal mode.
The spacecraft was assigned the serial number Kosmos-2553.
“The Kosmos-2553 technological spacecraft is equipped with newly developed on-board instruments and systems for their testing under conditions of exposure to radiation and heavy charged particles,” the ministry added.
Earlier that day, the space forces of the Russian Aerospace Forces successfully launched a Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicle from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region. All pre-launch operations and the launch of the launch vehicle took place in the normal mode. It was noted that the rocket should launch a spacecraft into orbit in the interests of the military department.
This is the first launch of a Soyuz-2 medium-class launch vehicle in 2022.
Soyuz-2.1a is a Russian medium-class launch vehicle designed to launch various spacecraft, including military ships and satellites. It is characterized by increased launch accuracy and increased mass of payloads in low orbits.
On December 27, 2021, the Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle with 36 OneWeb communication satellites was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The separation of the first and second stages of the spacecraft passed normally.
In October of the same year, the Soyuz-2.1b rocket with 36 OneWeb satellites was launched from the Vostochny cosmodrome. This was the last launch from the Vostochny rocket using kerosene as fuel.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
