Kosmos 2468
| Mission type | communications satellite |
|---|---|
| Operator | VKS |
| COSPAR ID | 2010-043C |
| SATCAT no. | 37154 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | NPO Prikladnoi Mekhaniki (NPO PM)[1] |
| Launch mass | 225 kilograms (496 lb)[1] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 8 September 2010, 03:30 UTC |
| Rocket | Rokot/Briz-KM |
| Launch site | Plesetsk 133/3 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth Orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 1,509 kilometres (938 mi)[2] |
| Apogee altitude | 1,498 kilometres (931 mi)[2] |
| Inclination | 82.4 degrees[2] |
| Period | 116.06 minutes |
Kosmos 2468 (Russian: Космос 2468 meaning Cosmos 2468) is a Russian military communications satellite which was launched in 2010 by the Russian Space Forces. It was launched with Kosmos 2467 and a Gonets-M civilian communication satellite.
Launch
Kosmos 2468 was launched from Site 133/3 at Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. It was launched by a Rockot carrier rocket with a Briz-KM upper stage at 03:30 UTC on its Kosmos designation, and the international designator 2010-043C. The United States Space Command assigned it the Satellite Catalog Number 37154.[2]
Strela-3 and Rodnik
Kosmos 2468 and Kosmos 2467 are Strela-3 communications satellite. One of them is a Strela-3, and one is a Strela-3M. It is not known which is which.[1] They are described as store-dump communications satellites which receive information from the ground when they pass overhead, and store that information until they pass over the ground station they deliver the information to.[3]: 15 The satellites are in low Earth orbit going round the Earth every 116 minutes.[2][4] A full deployment of Strela-3 craft should consist of twelve satellites.[3]: 15 One satellite has the GRAU index of 17F13, as a Strela-3, and the other has a GRAU index of 17F132 as a Strela-3M.[1][5]
Strela-3 has a civilian variant called Gonets which is used by the Russian government for communication in remote areas. It can take between two minutes and six hours to deliver messages.[6]
The previous satellites of this class, Kosmos 2451, Kosmos 2452 and Kosmos 2453 were launched together in July 2009.[5][7]
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
