Gonets
A Gonets-M satellite at Salon du Bourget in 2013 | |
| Manufacturer | NPO Prikladnoi Mekhaniki |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Russia |
| Operator | Gonets SatCom (1996–present) Roscosmos (1992–1996) |
| Applications | Communications |
| Specifications | |
| Bus | Gonets |
| Launch mass | 233 to 280 kg |
| Power | 40 watts from solar panels |
| Batteries | Nickel-hydrogen |
| Equipment | UHF transponders (B-band / D-band) Data rate up to 64 kbit/s |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Design life | 5 years (planned) |
| Production | |
| Status | Active |
| Related spacecraft | |
| Derived from | Strela |
Gonets (Russian Гонец, for Messenger) is a Russian civilian low Earth orbit communications satellite system. It consists of a number of satellites, derived from Strela military communications satellites. The first two satellites, which were used to test and validate the system, were launched by a Tsyklon-3 launch vehicle 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, supplement and replace the satellites which are currently in orbit. A single first D1M satellite was launched by a Kosmos-3M launch vehicle on 21 December 2005. A second Gonets-D1M satellite was launched by a Rokot launch vehicle on 8 September 2010.