Gonets
 |
|
| Manufacturer | NPO Prikladnoi Mekhaniki |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Russia |
| Operator |
RKA (Until 1996) Gonets SatCom (1996-Present) |
| Applications | Communication |
| Specifications | |
| Design life | 5 years |
| Launch mass | 233 to 280 kilograms (514 to 617 lb) |
| Power | 40 Watts from solar panels |
| Batteries | Nickel/Hydrogen |
| Equipment |
UHF transponders (NATO B/D band) Data rate up to 64kb/s |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Production | |
| Status | Active |
| Related spacecraft | |
| Derived from | Strela |
Gonets (Russian Гонец, Messenger) is a Russian civilian low Earth orbit communication satellite system. It consists of a number of satellites, derived from Strela military communication satellites. The first two satellites, which were used to test and validate the system, were launched by a Tsyklon-3 carrier rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on 13 July 1992, and were designated Gonets-D. The first operational satellites, designated Gonets-D1, were launched on 19 February 1996. After launch, the first three satellites were given military Kosmos designations, a practice which was not continued with the other satellites.
Ten operational satellites and two demonstration spacecraft have been placed in orbit. A further three were lost in a launch failure on 27 December 2000. A new series of modernised Gonets satellites, Gonets-D1M, will supplement and eventually replace the satellites which are currently in orbit. A single first D1M satellite was launched by a Kosmos-3M rocket on 21 December 2005. A second D1M satellite was launched by a Rokot carrier rocket on 8 September 2010.
Gonets was originally a Russian Federal Space Agency programme, however in 1996 it was privatised, and it is now organised by Gonets SatCom, which is controlled by ISS Reshetnev.
As of 2016[update], the Gonets orbit group comprises 12 second-generation spacecraft “Gonets-M” and 1 first-generation “Gonets-D1”. The orbital group performs the task of direct communication with subscribers at any point of the globe. With such a number of spacecraft in the Gonets orbit group, the system provides communication with waiting time characteristics as indicated in the following table.
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