EKS (satellite)

EKS (Edinaya Kosmicheskaya Systema)

Manufacturer	RKK Energia (bus) and TsNII Kometa (payload.)
Country of origin	Russia
Operator	Russian Aerospace Defence Forces
Applications	Early warning of missile attack
Specifications
Bus	Possibly USP (Victoria)
Power	Deployable solar arrays
Batteries	Yes
Equipment	Military early warning system and a reported secure emergency communications payload to be used in case of a nuclear war.
Regime	Tundra orbits
Production
Status	Deployment, first satellite EKS-1 launched in November 2015.
Built	1
On order	5
Launched	1
Retired	0
First launch	EKS 1 / Tundra-L11, November 17, 2015

EKS (reportedly standing for Russian: Единая космическая система, tr. Edinaya Kosmicheskaya Sistema meaning Unified Space System) (GRAU designation: 14F142) is a developing programme of Russian early warning satellites as a replacement for the US-KMO and US-K satellites of the Oko programme. These satellites identify ballistic missile launches from outer space and complement early warning radars such as the Voronezh. This gives advance notice of a nuclear attack and would provide information to the A-135 missile defence system which protects Moscow, as well as other Russian missile defense and counterattack resources. Six satellites are planned to be initially orbited. The first of them was launched on November 17, 2015.

EKS is designed as a replacement for the current system of early warning satellites called Oko, which had its first launch in 1972 and was described in 2005 as "hopelessly outdated". Oko has two types of satellites: US-KMO are in geosynchronous orbits and have an infrared telescope to identify ballistic missile launches.US-K are in molniya orbits and are an earlier model with optical telescopes and infrared sensors. The Oko system has two control centres with the main one being Serpukhov-15 outside Moscow.

Oko is part of the Main Centre for Missile Attack Warning which is under the Space Command (KK) of the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces.

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Wikipedia