Fourth Generation Photo Recons - Yantar / Kobalt
| Yantar-2K | Phoenix |
| Yantar-4K1 | Oktan |
| Yantar-1KFT | Comet, Silhouette |
| Yantar-4K2 | Kobalt |
| Yantar-4KS1 | Terylene |
| Yantar-4KS1M | Neman |
| Yantar-4K2M | Kobalt-M |
The first satellite of the family was developed in the early 1970s at the Central Specialized Design Bureau in Samara. The cameras with the extended lens and a store of film were placed in the conical main descent module of the satellite. Thanks to deorbited capsules (referred to as buckets), the films were dropped to surface in three portions: two in capsules and one with the camera in its reentry vehicle.
In 1975 the fourth-generation Yantar photo recon spacecraft debuted for the purpose of taking over the high resolution reconnaissance duties of their predecessors. By flying elliptical orbits with perigees typically near 170 km, fourth generation spacecraft can enhance the resolution of their imaging systems. Principal improvements of the original fourth generation satellites included an extended orbital lifetime (initially 30 days; now 60-70 days) and the capability to return small film capsules during the course of the mission without de-orbiting the entire spacecraft. The spacecraft is approximately 7 m long and 2.4 m maximum diameter with a mass of 6.7 metric tons. Equipped with two solar arrays, Yantar spacecraft were primarily constrained by maneuvering propellant and film reserves.
The first satellite in the Yantar series was launched on December 13, 1974. From then until 2002 at least 117 Yantar satellites have operated in space. Kosmos 2283 in 1994 set a new endurance record of 71 days on orbit. During 1993 and 1994 three and two high resolution Yantar spacecraft were launched, respectively, but one, Kosmos 2259 (14 July 1993) failed after about ten days in space. All missions during the period (Kosmos 2231, 2240, 2259, 2274, and 2283) were launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome into inclinations of 63 degrees-67 degrees.
The precision optics of the Yantar-4K2M satellite completely removes objects on the Earth by the size of up to 30 centimeters. But this accuracy is not always necessary. And given its cost - a billion rubles, the military will think ten times before they ask to launch such a device.
The current Yantar-4K2M, the last planned for 2015, played the role of a reserve. It resulted from technical problems with its successors, 7-ton satellites of the Persona electro-optic recognition series. This is the first Russian satellites moving in a sun-synchronous orbit, i.e. that the angle between the orbit plane and the direction to the Sun is always the same during the year (this means that over a given area the device always flies at the same local time and its height ensures two times a day over places on the Earth's surface having the same latitude). This is important for multispectral imaging.
The Soyuz-U launch vehicle was used to place them in orbit. Initially the satellites remained in orbit for merely 30 days. By the end of the 1990s their service life quadrupled to 120 days. A Kobalt flew a 133-day mission between May 29 and October 10, 2001.
The Kobalt-M is a series of specialized reconnaissance imagery satellites developed by the Samara-based Progress Rocket and Space Center and produced by the Arsenal enterprise. The first modernized satellite was launched in the fall of 2004. The last Kobalt-M satellite became the tenth representative of this series.
In order to ensure that optical reconnaissance did not stop at the time of the "debriefing" with "Persona" at all, the air and space defense troops launched another reconnaissance satellite, Cobalt-M, in May 2014 into orbit. The last Kobalt-M film-return reconnaissance satellite came back to the Earth in 2015.
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