Oko
Although the first in-orbit tests of the Oko early warning spacecraft bus started with the launch of Kosmos 520 in 1972, the first missile detection sensors were reportedly not flown until 1976. The early Vidicon telescopes employed sensor diameters of 0.3-0.5 m with 4 degree fields-of-view for both IR (0.9-2.2 mm) wavelengths. Whereas the IR sensors successfully detected missiles in flight by late 1976, the UV sensors failed repeatedly during the 1976-1978 period and were then abandoned (Reference 86).
More recently Russia has orbited the Kosmos series numbers 2411 and upwards with the latest Kosmos-2455 launched November 20, 2009 in what is believed to be the more advanced Oko (Eye) early warning satellites.
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