On January 20, 2005 at 06:00 DMV (03:00 UTC) the Space Forces successfully launched a Kosmos-3M rocket from launch pad No. 1 of the launch complex No. 132 of the Plesetsk launch site. The rocket delivered two satellites into orbit - Cosmos-2414 and Tatiana. According to the Space Forces, the spacecraft successfully reached their orbit at 07:02 MSK and at 07:37 MSK the command center of the Space Forces took control over the satellites.
Cosmos-2414 received international designation 2005-002A and NORAD catalog number 28521 (the Tatiana spacecraft – 2005-002C and 28523 respectively). According to NORAD data, Cosmos-2414 was deployed in an orbit with inclination of 82.95 degrees, orbital period of about 104 minutes, apogee of 960 km, and perigee of 917 km. This indicates that the satellite is a navigation satellite of the Parus system, which used these orbits in the past.
Tatiana (Universitetskiy) is a 30-kg scientific satellite, developed by scientists and sudents of the Moscow State University and the Military Space Academy.
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Thanks for all the information in the Blog
I've got a question though about the Cosmos 3M launcher. I remember reading a couple of years ago that production of the LV in Omsk has stopped and that (back then) another 15 or so launch vehicles were stored for future use
Is this correct, and if so, how many are there still stored, and what will replace the Cosmos 3M, now that the Tsyklon is out of the picture and Anarga 1 is still far far away?
The production of Kosmos-3M launchers was suspended in 1994. I'm not sure about 15 launchers, but it looks like the number was fairly small.
There was a talk about using the Rockot launcher instead of Kosmos-3M or about resuming the production of the latter, but as I undestand, no decision has been made yet. I'll probably need to take a closer look at the situation.
Thanks for the information
I do remember that the Rockot was cleared for goverment launches, so that would make sense in a way.
As far as I know the ideas of restarting production or upgrading never got from the ground, but with a sudden flow of funds all might change very sudden off course, if the same suppliers are still there of course. I would consider it a mistake to restart production, even given the highly succesive history of the launcher, but there are alternatives.....
thanks