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Meteor

Since the inception of the Soviet meteorological program in 1964 and the official debut of the Meteor 1 spacecraft in 1969, the USSR/Russian Federation has operated a single, integrated space-based network designed to meet all civilian, military, and governmental requirements. In 1992 the responsibility for program management of the meteorological program transitioned from the USSR State Committee on Hydrometeorology (GOSKOMHYDROMET) to the newly established Committee on Hydrometeorology of the Russian Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources. Similarly, the All-Union Research Institute for Electromechanics (VNIIEM), which has produced Meteor spacecraft for a quarter century, was renamed the All-Russian Electromechanical Scientific Research Institute (References 637-638).

Russian Meteor satellites make possible the creation of atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles, penetrating radiation profiles, sea-surface temperature readings, sea-ice condition charts, snow-cover limit charts, cloud and surface images in the visible and infrared, and cloud-top height charts. The well-known visible images have been transmitted according to the international automatic picture transmission (APT) format since 1971 and are available on carrier frequencies of 137.300 MHz, 137.400 MHz, and 137.850 MHz (FM, +50 KHz bandwidth, two lines per second).

Between 1975 and 1994 21 Meteor 2 spacecraft (not including the apparent Meteor 2 failure designated Kosmos 1066) served as the primary space-based meteorological network. Originally launched by the Vostok booster into nominal orbits of 850 km by 900 km at an inclination of 81.3 degrees, during 1982-1984 the Meteor 2 satellites were transferred to the Tsyklon-3 booster and a new orbital regime of 940 km by 960 km with an inclination of 82.5 degrees.

The approximately 1,300 kg spacecraft carried a modest array of scanning telephotometars, scanning IR radiometers, and a radiation measurement complex. Two scanning, single-band (0.5-0.7 µm) telephotometers, one with a 2,100-km swath width and one with a swath width of 2,600 km, feature ground resolutions of 2 km and 1 km, respectively. A single band (8-12 µm) IR radiometer provides 8-km resolution over a 2,800-km swath, while an 8 channel IR radiometer (11.1-18.7 µm) collects only 37-m resolution over a 1,000-km swath.

The last of the Meteor 2 series spacecraft was launched on 31 August 1993 as Meteor 2-21 (Reference 639). The spacecraft also carried the Italian Temisat micro-satellite as a piggyback payload designed to collect and retransmit environmental data from terrestrial sensors. Temisat was ejected shortly after reaching orbit. From Western interceptions of Meteor 2-21's transmissions, the spacecraft did not perform as well as earlier vehicles in the series, particularly with regard to image quality and stable signal strength. The spacecraft operated through the end of 1994 on 137.400 MHz and 137.850 MHz, "switching when required to avoid interference with other Russian Earth observation spacecraft. No other Meteor 2 spacecraft were apparently operational during 1993-1994.

The Meteor 3 program began with the launch of Meteor 3-1 in 1985 after the prototype spacecraft (Kosmos 1612) was lost due to a launch vehicle failure the previous year. According to documents filed with the World Meteorological Organization, the objectives of the Meteor 3 program are as follows:

• "a to obtain, on a regular basis, global data on the distribution of cloud, snow, and ice cover and surface radiation temperatures once or twice daily at times close to the synoptictimes;
• to obtain, on a regular basis, regional data on the distribution of cloud, snow, and icecover;
• to obtain, during each communication session, global data on the vertical temperature and humidity distributions in the atmosphere;
• to observe, on a regular basis, information on radiation conditions in near-Earth space globally once or twice a day, and for each orbit in storm conditions" (Reference 640).

To eliminate low latitude coverage gaps, the altitude of Meteor 3 satellites was increased 250 km in comparison with the Meteor 2 network, i.e., approximately 1,200 km circular orbits with an inclination of 82.5 degrees. The higher altitude provides a wider ground swath for the same instrument angular field-of-view. All Meteor 3 spacecraft are launched by the Tsyklon-3 booster from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.

Although very similar to its predecessor, the Meteor 3 satellite incorporates several new improvements and capabilities. Total spacecraft mass is 2,150-2,250 kg with a payload of 500-700 kg in a volume of 0.7 ma. The spacecraft is essentially a vertically oriented cylinder with a maximum diameter of slightly more than 1 m and a height of about 1.5 m which supports a payload equipment truss at the bottom, a gravity gradient stabilization system on top, and two movable solar arrays (~1.5m tall by 3.5 m wide). The spacecraft bus is maintained at standard temperatures and pressures and is fed a total output power from the solar arrays of 500 W. The design lifetime is two years.

The payload truss is an innovation over the Meteor 2 satellite design which facilitates the addition of new and experimental instruments. Table 4.5 details a typical Meteor 3 satellite payload suite. The principal telephoto meter produces an image size of 195 mm by 290 mm which is scanned at 3.8 lines per mm with at least 12 gray levels. Similarly, the IR radiometer image of 148 mm by 290 mm is scanned at 1 line per mm with at least 9 gray levels. The 10 channel spectrometer includes one band for water vapor, six bands for carbon dioxide, one band for ozone, and two bands about 11 µm. The experimental Ozon-M spectrometer is designed to measure total ozone content and vertical ozone distribution in individual regions (References 640-642). In addition to 137-138 MHz direct transmissions, data is also beamed to Earth at 466.5 MHz (FM, i±120 KHz bandwidth, 10 W output power) in a "store and forward" mode. The primary ground stations are located at Moscow/Obninsk, Novosibirsk, and Khabarovsk.

Meteor 3-5 (August, 1991) continued to operate during 1993-1994, but its US TOMS (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer) developed problems in May, 1993, and failed entirely in late 1994. However, the data returned by the 30-kg instrument, particularly over the south polar region was exceptionally valuable (References 643-652). Working with Meteor 3-5 during 1993 were Meteors 3-3 and 3-4, but both had come to the end of their useful lives as the year came to a close.

The only new Meteor 3 mission undertaken during the period was Meteor 3-6, launched on 25 January 1994. The newest member of the constellation was inserted into an orbital plane 60 degrees to the west of Meteor 3-5's plane. In addition to carrying the German TUBSAT B as are leasable piggyback payload, Meteor 3-6 included an integrated French payload called SCARAB (Scanner for Radiation Budget) and a German PRARE (Precision Range and Range Rate Experiment) instrument. The French radiometer was designed to study the Earth's radiation budget over an extended period of time and to measure the effect of clouds on the greenhouse phenomenon. A second SCARAB instrument is manifested on a Meteor spacecraft to be launched in 1996. The German PRARE was similar to the instrument carried on ESA's ERS1 satellite (References 653-657).

The last Meteor 3 was scheduled for 1995 and was to be followed in 1996 by the first of the Meteor 3M class. The overall mass of the spacecraft will be increased to 2,500 kg, including a larger payload of up to 900 kg. In addition, the average daily power available will nearly double to 1 kW, and the spacecraft stabilization accuracy will be improved by an order of magnitude. Pointing accuracy will also be improved, as well as satellite design lifetime which will reach three years. The store and forward transmission mode will be converted from the current 466.5 MHz analog to 1.69-1.71 GHz digital. The 1.4 m diameter, 2.2 m long spacecraft bus will carry a payload truss (like Meteor 3) with dimensions of 1,800 mm by 1,600 mm by 270 mm. High-temperature ammonia thrusters (0.147 N) will be used for adjustments of the basic 900 km by 950 km orbit. Originally slated for an orbital inclination of 82.5 degrees, Meteor 3M may also be inserted into sun-synchronous orbits by the new Rus launch vehicle. In 1994 NASA was negotiating with the Russian Space Agency to fly a SAGE III (Stratospheric and Aerosols and Gas Experiment) instrument on a 1998 Meteor 3M and a new TOMS payload on a flight in the year 2000 (References 641, 656, 658-660).

The July 2014 launch of a Meteor-3M meteorological satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome has geopolitical significance for Russia and will allow it to reduce dependence on foreign satellites, Minister of the Russian Natural Resources and Ecology Sergey Donskoy said. “The expansion of the range of Russian meteorological satellites has a geopolitical significance. Russia will gradually reduce its dependence on the data sent from foreign spacecraft. The launch of the second Meteor-M satellite will allow us to expand the number of meteorological satellites, which will to a large extent increase the efficiency of the data flow and forecast precision, as well as the quality of ecological monitoring data,” Donskoy said.

According to the minister, up until now the Russian Federal Service of Hydrometeorology and Monitoring of the Environment (Rosgidromet) has been receiving 90 percent of its meteorological data free of charge from foreign satellites, which does not correspond with national security. Russia’s Ministry of Natural Resources planned to increase a number of meteosats from three to nine. Meteor-M is the second spacecraft of the Meteor-3M complex, created as part of the Federal Space Program. After the launch, Meteor-M will allow the Russian meteorological service to obtain accurate and up-to-date data on radiation and weather conditions, screen the state of the ozone and monitor the sea surface.