Gonets-M 3

Gonets-M 3

Russia

Spacecraft n°:

Russian spacecraft n°:

Also called: Gonets-M N°13

Designation	38734 / 12041B
Launch date	28 July 2012 - 01:35 UT
Launch site	Plesetsk, LC-133/3
Launch vehicle	Rokot-KM
Mission	Comm/Civil: Communications, Store-Dump
Intermediate LEO Earth orbit:
Perigee / Apogee	1480 x 1508 km
Eccentricity	1,78E-03
Inclination	82.4 deg
Period	115.86 min

Prime manufacturer	NPO Prikladnoi Mekhaniki (NPO-PM)
Platform
Operator	Gonets Satcom
Mass at launch	270 kg
Dry Mass	kg
Basic shape
Dimension (m)
Equipment
Solar array	2 deployable fixed solar arrays
Stabilization
Propulsion
DC power	120 W
Design lifetime	5-7 yrs

The Khrunichev Rokot launch vehicle returned to flight on Jul 28, 2012 putting four satellites in low orbit. Cosmos-2481 is a Strela-3M military communications satellite; two Gonets-M satellites are the civilian counterparts of the Strela-3M; and MiR is a small technology satellite.
The satellites were deployed in a 1483 x 1506 km x 82.5 deg orbit; the Briz upper stage then made a depletion burn to 1164 x 1504 km. Briz malfunctioned during the previous Rokot launch in 2011, leaving the Geo-IK-2 satellite in the wrong orbit, but this time appears to have operated correctly.

Ref.: #7(JR664), #14, #226, #228 - update: 11.08.12