China Testing New Space Weapons

Long March 4c on July 20 of the Chuangxin-3, Shiyan-7, and Shijian-15 military satellites

Bill Gertz on the Washington Free Beacon website is reporting that China has conducted a satellite capture mission in space as part of Star Wars military program.

The test conducted last week consisted of a maneuvering satellite that captured another satellite in space. Pentagon officials say that was a significant step forward for Beijing’s space warfare program.

The satellite capture involved one of three small satellites fitted with a mechanical arm that were launched July 20 as part of a covert anti-satellite weapons development program, said U.S. officials familiar with reports of the test.

One official described the satellite-grabbing spacecraft as a “mobile satellite launch vehicle.”

The satellites involved in the space warfare development program were identified by the Chinese as “scientific experimentation satellites,” according to a notice published July 24 in the online journal Space News.

They were identified as Chuangxin-3 (Innovation-3), Shiyan-7 (Experiment-7), and Shijian-15 (Practice-15). The spacecraft with the robotic mechanical arm that conducted the satellite capture experiment has not been authoritatively identified from among the three orbiters. However, space analysts suspect it is Shiyan-7.

The three satellites were launched atop a Long March-4C rocket on July 20 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north central China.

You can read the entire article including comments by space analyst Bob Christy, who writes the blog Zarya at http://freebeacon.com/china-testing-new-space-weapons/.

According to an article posted yesterday on SatNews (http://www.satnews.com/story.php?number=1243651026), Rick Fisher, a Chinese military affairs specialist, said the robot-arm satellite that he believes is the Shiyan-7 is part of China’s dual-use space program that includes satellites for military close-surveillance and attack missions. Civilian applications include development of space manipulator arm technology.

“As an ASAT, a future version of the SY-7 could be used to take close-up images of U.S. satellites, to remove systems from those satellites and return them to China, to directly damage U.S. satellites or to plant ‘mines’ on those satellites or close nearby,” said Fisher, with the International Assessment and Strategy Center.  “An SY-7-like ASAT gives China the option to attack enemy satellites without creating a large cloud of debris that may also damage other Chinese satellites.”  Fisher said China recently hosted a major space conference and is seeking to position itself as a space “superpower” as a means to increase cooperation and technology acquisition from other countries. At the conference, “Chinese officials made a deliberate appeal to Canada, which developed and built the manipulator arm used on the International Space Station and U.S. Space Shuttles,” Fisher said.  However, Fisher said China made every effort to conceal the People’s Liberation Army’s role in the space program and would probably deny any military role in the developing mechanical arm technology for offensive space operations.  “The ‘Canadarm’ [manipulator arm] was developed in Canada with Canadian funding and four were purchased by NASA for the U.S. Space Shuttle program,” he said.
China conducted a test launch of a new high-Earth orbit anti-satellite missile called the DN-2 in March, according to U.S. officials.

U.S. Navy's newly launched spacecraft is flying high

BY JUSTIN RAY, SPACEFLIGHT NOW



The U.S. Navy's new satellite to provide more agile communications for forces on the move has successfully maneuvered itself into a perch 22,300 miles above Earth and unfurled its giant umbrella-like mesh antennas.

Launched by ULA's Atlas 5 rocket on Feb. 24 from Cape Canaveral into a geosynchronous transfer orbit, the Mobile User Objective System 1 satellite has executed eight firings of its liquid apogee main engine to ascend from that dropoff point. The rocket delivered the craft to a preliminary 2,150 by 22,237 statute mile orbit, which has now been circularized, and the inclination was reduced from 19 degrees to about 5 degrees relative to the equator.

The Navy has not announced which of five available orbital zones the spacecraft will be operated from -- the vast Pacific Ocean, the continental U.S. coverage area, the Atlantic Ocean region, or two positions over the Indian Ocean and the Middle East. The testing location is over the Pacific in view of ground station in Hawaii.

You can read the entire copyrighted article from Spaceflight Now by clicking here.

New UHF Satellite Frequency?? Update

At 1340 UTC I received voice comms on a possible new satellite frequency -- 261.420 MHz nfm. had two OMs in a foreign language chatting and then disappeared around 1345 UTC. Just had another hit at 1402 UTC so this suggest either a geostationary or Molniya orbit high flyer.

Audioboo: Milsat Downlink 261.420 MHz 8-11-2011 #uhf #milsat #downlink http://t.co/9lM1PCU via @Audioboo

There are no known US UHF milsat assignments on this freq. Closest US Mil freq is 30 kHz higher on 261.450 MHz, an old Fltsatcom Bravo wideband channel. This is an outside possibility since we never did get a real handle how wide these transponders really were. Some thought that at the band edge of these supposed 500 kHz wideband transponders that they did extend below the band edges, but I never saw anything solid.

So is this the bottom end of a 500 kHz wideband transponder or ? From tracking that I have been able to dig up it doesn't look like either Fltsatcom 7 or 8 as I do not have any visibility to them from here right now.

At 1410, I'm getting some apparent shift in freq to 261.419 MHz. This is probably from the ground stations and not doppler. Trying to record some audio for posting and help with language/content. As I type this update just had another weak hit at 1409 UTC.

Our good friend Paul Marsh from uhf-satcom.com/ sent me the following SDR plot. He thinks I have a Fltsatcom wideband transponder. According to Paul we have 7 pirates up on this one so that is probably what I heard.



Will still maintain a watch for further comms until I positively lock down the satellite.

278 MHz Mystery Milsat Possibly Russian

Our good friend Paul Marsh (Twitter address: UHF_satcom) has a working theory that the 278 MHz satellite downlinks we are hearing may be from a new Russian military satellite program - the Meridian milsats. The first two launches were apparent failures per http://www.russianspaceweb.com/meridian.html.

Signals for our mystery 278 MHz milsat have been heard on: 277.6000 277.8000 277.9500 278.0000 278.0500 278.1000 278.2000 278.2250 278.2500 278.4000 278.4250 278.4500 278.4750 278.5000 MHz

Orbital Information

First valid epoch is 5. Nov 2010
Selected (next earlier) epoch is 7. Dec 2010 Selected (next earlier) epoch is 7. Dec 2010

Brightness: 4.9 mag (at 1000 km and 50% illuminated) 3.7 mag (at perigee and full illumination) Brightness: 4.9 mag (at 1000 km and 50% illuminated) 3.7 mag (at perigee and full illumination)
RCS: 6.8m2 (Radar cross section) RCS: 6.8m2 (Radar cross section)
NORAD Catalog Nr: 37213 NORAD Catalog Nr: 37213
International Designator: 2010-058B International Designator: 2010-058B

Perigee Height: 798.3 km Perigee Height: 798.3 km
Apogee Height: 39616.6 km Apogee Height: 39616.6 km
Orbit Period: 11.98h Orbit Period: 11.98h

Kepler Elements Kepler Elements
Semi-major Axis: 26585.584 km Semi-major Axis: 26585.584 km
Eccentricity: 0.7300645 Eccentricity: 0.7300645
Inclination: 62.829° Inclination: 62.829 °
Argument of Perigee: 269.9111° Argument of Perigee: 269.9111 °
Right Ascension of Ascending Node: 0.6281° Right Ascension of Ascending Node: 0.6281 °
Mean Anomaly at Epoch: 14.4662° Mean Anomaly at Epoch: 14.4662 °
Susceptibility to Drag B*: 1/earth radii Susceptibility to Drag B *: 1/earth radii
Revolutions per Day: 2.00278283 Revolutions per Day: 2.00278283
Number of Orbits since Launch: 67 Number of Orbits since Launch: 67

Epoch (UTC): 7. Dec 2010 0:53:58 (JD=2455537.53747804) Epoch (UTC): 7. Dec 2010 0:53:58 (JD = 2455537.53747804)

State Vector State Vector
Position Vector: x = 21430.31 km Position Vector: x = 21430.31 km
y = 189.415 km y = 189.415 km
z = -88.681 km z = -88.681 km
Velocity Vector: vx = 3.1433 km/s Velocity Vector: vx = 3.1433 km / s
vy = 1.9995 km/s vy = 1.9995 km / s
vz = 3.828 km/s vz = 3.828 km / s

Two-Line Elements Two-Line Elements

Meridian 3 r 4.9 6.8 Meridian 3 r 4.9 6.8 1 37213U 10058B 10341.03747804 -.00001272 00000-0 00000+0 0 164 1 37213U 10058B 10341.03747804 -. 00001272 00000-0 00000 +0 0 164 2 37213 062.8290 000.6281 7300645 269.9111 014.4662 02.00278283 674 237 213 062.8290 000.6281 269.9111 014.4662 02.00278283 674 7300645

From the Russian Strategic nuclear forces blog
http://russianforces.org/blog/2010/11/space_forces_launch_new_meridi.shtml

Space Forces launched new Meridian communication satellite

On November 2, 2010 the Space Forces carried out a successful launch of a Soyuz-2.1a launcher with a Fregat post-boost stage. The rocket was launched at 03:58:39 MSK (00:58:39 UTC) from the launch pad No. 3 of the launch complex No. 43 of the Plesetsk space launch site. According to a Space Forces representative, the spacecraft - a communication satellite of the Meridian type -successfully reached its orbit at 06:13 MSK.

The satellite was identified by the Space Forces by its generic name, Meridian. Its international designation is 2010-058A, NORAD number 37212. According to the satellite manufacturer, the Reshetnev Design Bureau, the satellite successfully reached its operational orbit. Parameters of the orbit: inclination 62.8 degrees, perigee 966 km, apogee about 39800 km, orbital period about 726 minutes.

This is the third Meridian launch. The fist one took place in December 2006, the second - in May 2009.

This launch completed flight tests of the Soyuz-2.1a rocket.

Other links:

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/meridian.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meridian_2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz-2_

http://www.satelliteonthenet.co.uk/index.php/launch-schedule

http://www.n2yo.com/?s=35008

http://www.n2yo.com/?s=29668

http://www.calsky.com/cs.cgi/Satellites/1?&satid=2009-029

http://www.calsky.com/cs.cgi/Satellites/1?&satid=2006-061

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=1133.1275

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=14658.15

http://russianforces.org/blog/2006/12/launch_of_meridian_communicati.shtml

http://orbiter-forum.com/showthread.php?t=8350

http://www.skyrocket.de/space/doc_sdat/meridian.htm

Second SBIRS satellite successfully completes panel integration

LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS) -- The U.S. Air Force's second geosynchronous Space-Based Infrared Systems satellite successfully completed the integration of its two equipment panels onto the spacecraft core module on Oct. 6 at the development site in Sunnyvale, Calif. This is a major milestone in the GEO-2 program and represents the first instance of a fully assembled and integrated GEO-2 space vehicle.

Over the last 34 days, the GEO-2 team executed the precise mechanical operations necessary for completion of panel integration. This included 134 connector mates between the equipment panels and spacecraft. The equipment panels are responsible for holding the individual electronics components which provide the satellite's communications, attitude control, power distribution, commanding and payload data processing. The team capitalized on their knowledge gained from GEO-1 integration to complete GEO-2 nine days ahead of schedule.

"The team has worked tirelessly, meeting each challenge head on." said Lt Col Jack Allen, commander of the SBIRS Space Squadron. "Their mission focus has been inspiring and the performance truly outstanding."

The GEO-2 team now will proceed with preparations and execution of Baseline Integrated System Test 2. BIST 2 is a series of tests that will provide a baseline of the fully integrated satellite's characteristics prior to environmental testing. GEO-2 is scheduled for launch in 2012.

SBIRS is the nation's next generation early missile warning system replacing the legacy Defense Support Program satellite with unrivaled missile warning capability, delivering a new generation of missile warning, missile defense, technical intelligence and battlespace awareness space-based satellites to combatant commanders. SBIRS is revolutionizing space based infrared monitoring of the earth with its high sensitivity, fast revisit rate and persistent presence.

The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center's Space Based Infrared Systems Wing manages the SBIRS program to develop both the geosynchronous orbiting satellites, and the highly elliptical orbiting payloads, as well as the ground systems to support mission operations.

AEHF-1 Milsat may launch next week

According to an article on SpaceFlight now, the AEHF-1 Milsat is scheduled to launch next week, August 12, and will be tested at an on orbit geo location of 90 degrees west.

The advanced satellite that will be used for relying secure US military communications will be launched on an Atlas 5 (5-531 configuration) rocket from Cape Canaveral AS, Florida. Liftoff had been targeted for August 12 at 7:14 a.m. EDT, but the launch could be sliding a day or two.

This maiden AEHF bird should be ready, if all goes well, to enter service early next year from an orbital location dictated by the needs at that time, officials said.

"AEHF will provide tactical and strategic support to a wide variety of Army, Navy, Marine and Air Force users," said Col. Michael Sarchet, commander of the Protected Satellite Communications Group at the Space and Missile Systems Center.

The U.S. military purchased a series of AEHF satellites for launches in the coming years to replace the aging Milstar communications spacecraft that link the national leadership and warfighters. The Advanced EHF Program is the next generation of global, highly secure, survivable communications system within all services of the Department of Defense.

"AEHF is a very sophisticated satellite because it is built to provide the highest levels of protection for our nation's most critical users. Encryption, low probability of intercept and detection, jammer resistance and the ability to penetrate the electro-magnetic interference caused by nuclear weapons are essential features when communication can be of the highest priority," Sarchet said.

In Nov. 2001, the U.S. Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Northrop Grumman Space Technology (Formerly TRW Space & Electronics) a $2.698 billion contract to begin the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (Advanced EHF) Program.

The SDD phase will deploy two Advance EHF satellites and the Advance EHF mission control segment. The new mission control segment will support both Milstar and AEHF. Lockheed Martin will serve as the developer of the ground segment, satellite bus provider, space vehicle integrator and overall systems integrator and prime contractor. This role builds on Lockheed Martin's successful experience on Milstar and DSCS. Northrop Grumman will provide the payload and associated components (digital processor and RF equipment).

The MILSATCOM Program Office, located at the Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the Advanced EHF contract manager and lead agency for ensuring the secure communications capabilities of this system are made available to the warfighter.

The Advanced EHF Program is the follow-on to the DoD's Milstar highly secure communication satellite program, which currently has a four-satellite operational constellation. The last Milstar satellite was successfully launched in April 2003.

As envisioned by the Pentagon, the fully operational Advanced EHF constellation will consist of four crosslinked satellites providing coverage of the Earth from 65 degrees north latitude to 65 degrees south. These satellites will provide more data throughput capability and coverage flexibility to regional and global military operations than ever before. A fifth satellite built could be used as a spare or launched to provide additional capability to the envisioned constellation.

Advanced EHF satellites will provide 10 times greater total capacity and offer channel data rates six times higher than that of Milstar II communications satellites. The higher data rates permit transmission of tactical military communications such as real-time video, battlefield maps and targeting data.

To accomplish this, Advanced EHF adds new higher data rate modes to the low data rate and medium data rate modes of Milstar II satellites. The higher data rate modes will provide data rates up to 8.2 million bits of data per second (Mbps) to future Advanced EHF Army terminals. That rate is more than 150 times faster than the 56 kilobit-per-second modems of today's personal computers. Each Advanced EHF satellite employs more than 50 communications channels via multiple, simultaneous downlinks. For global communications, the Advanced EHF system uses inter-satellite crosslinks, eliminating the need to route messages via terrestrial systems.



U.S. Air Force Fact Sheet
Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) System

Mission/Vision

The Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) System is a joint service satellite communications system that will provide survivable, global, secure, protected, and jam-resistant communications for high-priority military ground, sea and air assets. Advanced EHF will allow the National Security Council and Unified Combatant Commanders to control their tactical and strategic forces at all levels of conflict through general nuclear war and supports the attainment of information superiority.

Background

The AEHF System is the follow-on to the Milstar system, augmenting and improving on the capabilities of Milstar, and expanding the MILSATCOM architecture. AEHF will provide connectivity across the spectrum of mission areas, including land, air and naval warfare; special operations; strategic nuclear operations; strategic defense; theater missile defense; and space operations and intelligence.

Features

Part of the MCSW's Protected SATCOM Group, the system consists of four satellites in geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) that provides 10 times the throughput of the 1990s-era Milstar satellites with a substantial increase in coverage for users. First launch in late 2010, AEHF will provide continuous 24-hour coverage between 65 degrees north and 65 degrees south latitude. The AEHF system is composed of three segments: space (the satellites), ground (mission control and associated communications links) and terminals (the users). The segments will provide communications in a specified set of data rates from 75 bps to approximately 8 Mbps. The space segment consists of a cross-linked constellation of three satellites. The mission control segment controls satellites on orbit, monitors satellite health and provides communications system planning and monitoring. This segment is highly survivable, with both fixed and mobile control stations. System uplinks and crosslinks will operate in the extremely high frequency (EHF) range and downlinks in the super high frequency (SHF) range. The terminal segment includes fixed and ground mobile terminals, ship and submarine terminals, and airborne terminals used by all of the Services and international partners (Canada, Netherlands and UK). MCSW is responsible for acquisition of the space and ground segments as well as the Air Force terminal segments. The Army and Navy will acquire their own terminals.

General Characteristics

Primary Function: Near-worldwide, secure, survivable satellite communications
Primary Contractor: Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company
Payload: Onboard signal processing, crossbanded EHF/SHF communications
Antennas: 2 SHF Downlink Phased Arrays, 2 Crosslinks, 2 Uplink/Downlink Nulling Antennas, 1 Uplink EHF Phased Array, 6 Uplink/Downlink Gimbaled Dish Antenna, 1 Each Uplink/downlink earth coverage horns
Capability: Data rates from 75 bps to approximately 8 Mbps

First Minotaur IV Lite launches from Vandenberg

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS) -- Members from the 30th Space Wing here launched the first Minotaur IV Lite launch vehicle at 4 p.m. April 22 here.

The rocket carried the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2.

The Minotaur family of launch vehicles are provided by the Orbital/Suborbital Program 2 and managed by officials from the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center's Space Development and Test Wing's Launch Test Squadron located at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.

Military Satellite Launch: RADUGA-1M 2

Launch notification below courtesy of Analytical Graphics.

New Launch: 2010 January 28, 0018 UTC
Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Launcher: Proton-M
International Designator(s): 2010-002A

SSC Name Owner
36358 RADUGA-1M 2 CIS

"A Proton rocket launched overnight Thursday with a Russian defense ministry satellite to relay communications between troops and military commanders.

"The silver launcher blasted off at 0018 GMT Thursday (7:18 p.m. EST Wednesday) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, kicking off a nine-hour mission that included multiple burns of the Breeze M upper stage.

"The Proton thundered into crystal clear skies and shed its first stage about two minutes after liftoff as planned. The second and third stages completed their roles in the launch 9 minutes into the flight, before giving way to the Breeze M upper stage.

"The Breeze M deployed the military satellite around 0919 GMT (4:19 a.m. EST) Thursday, and Russia declared the launch successful.

"The payload is believed to be a modernized Raduga, or Globus, communications satellite designed to link Russian troops and senior military commanders. The spacecraft can relay messages through small mobile terminals deployed on the battlefield, Russian defense officials said.

"The Raduga fleet is stationed in geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles [35,900 km] above Earth."

Source: Spaceflight Now, "Proton blasts off with Russian military payload"

Russians Launch New Military Elint Into Orbit

I have now confirmed through two independent sources and orbital analysis that this was a Lotus-S elint satellite launch. One source comes from the well respected Russian Strategic nuclear forces blog: http://russianforces.org/blog/2009/11/cosmos-2455_-_a_new_generation.shtml

Russia launched a military spy satellite into space Friday on a Soyuz-U rocket from the country's Plesetsk Cosmodrome (launch complex 16, launch pad no. 2). The secret payload lifted off at 1044 GMT (5:44 a.m. EST). The three-stage Soyuz-U rocket delivered the Kosmos 2455 spacecraft (2009-063A) into an elliptical orbit 905 x 199 km, inclination 67.17°. Catalog numbers associated with the launch are 36095 and 36096.

There are several post on various newsgroups indicating this is an elint satellite. The particulars on this satellite follow.



Payload: Lotos-S Electronic Reconnaissance satellite (Cosmos 2455)
Spacecraft: Lotos-S ("Lotos" means Lotus), possible production item's code 14F145.

Manufacturer: Samara Space Centre; ELINT Payload Manufacturer: PLC Arsenal Machine Building Plant, St. Petersburg

Lotos-S satellites are one component of the the next generation ELINT satellite system Liana. Liana replaces both the Tselina-2 with Lotos-S satellites and the naval US-PM with Pion-NKS spacecrafts. It's built upon Yantar remote sensing satellites' bus. The coming launch is going to be first in the service career of this model.

From the Russian Strategic Nuclea Forces:

"This is the first launch of a satellite of the Lotos-S type. It has been reported that these satellites, with their not yet flown counterparts known as Pion, will work as part of the Liana electronic reconnaissance system. This system is being designed to replace the Tselina electronic intelligence and US-PU/Legenda naval reconnaissance systems. Cosmos-2421, which operated from June 2006 to February 2008, apparently was the last US-PU satellite. The launch of Cosmos-2428 in June 2007 was reported to be the last launch of a Tselina-2 satellite. (At the same time, according to the Kommersant report quoted above, Ukraine will deliver to Russia four 11F644 Tselina spacecraft by January 2012, indicating that launches might continue.)

"The launch was initially planned for July 28, 2009, but was cancelled because of problems with one of the satellite components. The spacecraft was returned to the manufacturer, Arsenal Machine Building Plant in St-Petersburg, which worked on the spacecraft together with the TsSKB-Progress Design Bureau in Samara."

Early initial reports from RIA Novosti that this was another Oko EW mission were not correct.

The Cosmos 2441 (launched on July 26, 2008) is believed to be the first in a new series of spy satellites (Persona), featuring updated imaging technology and an extended lifetime of up to seven years.

The Soyuz-U rocket is designed to orbit Soyuz and Progress manned and cargo spacecraft, as well as special-purpose satellites such as Cosmos, Resurs-F, Foton and Bion.

The rocket has payload of up to 6,950 kilograms. A Soyuz-U was last launched from Plesetsk on April 29, 2009.

Russia reportedly operates a network of 60-70 reconnaissance satellites and has carried out 16 space launches since the beginning of 2009.

Based on the information in my satellite database, I do not believe the later mission tieup since that Oko EW constellation operates around a 65° inclination in a much high Molniya style orbit. For now I will carry this satellite as a Lotus-S elint bird.

NROL Launch 49 - Better the devil you know…

Like previous patches for classified missions, the one for the upcoming NROL-49 mission offers some hints as to its purpose.

The link below is for a very interesting article on a future NRO launch no. 49. If you are interested in military space missions, this one is worth the look.

Better the devil you know…
by Dwayne Day

Russia Launches Kobalt Military Recon Satellite

COSMOS 2450

New Launch: 29 April 2009, 1658 UTC
Site: Plesetsk Missile and Space Complex, Russia
Launcher: Soyuz-U
International Designator(s): 2009-022A/SSC 34871

Russia launched a Soyuz rocket Wednesday carrying a covert military payload believed to be a spy satellite with a high-resolution optical camera.

The Soyuz rocket lifted off at 1658 GMT from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia, according to Roscosmos, the Russian space agency.

The launcher reached orbit and deployed the spacecraft about eight minutes later, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.

Russian military officials said the craft would be named Kosmos 2450, fitting with the defense ministry's nomenclature for military satellites.

Tracking data indicate Kosmos 2450 is in an orbit with a high point of about 208 miles [335 km] and a low point of about 105 miles [169 km]. The orbital inclination was reported as 67.1 degrees.

Analysts believe Kosmos 2450 is a Kobalt-class satellite with retrievable film canisters that can return imagery to Earth through a mission lasting at least several months.

Earlier Kobalt spy satellites were operated in similar orbits.

Source: Spaceflight Now, Russian military launches new surveillance satellite and AGIs Launch Notifications

China Launches Clandestine Military Recon Satellite

YAOGAN 6
New Launch: 2009 April 22, 0255 UTC
Site: Taiyuan Space Center, PRC
Launcher: Long March 2C (Chang Zheng 2C)
International Designator(s): 2009-021A/SCC: 34839

China sent into orbit a clandestine remote sensing satellite Wednesday during a launch that was announced less than a day in advance.

A Long March 2C rocket blasted off at 0255 GMT Wednesday from the Taiyuan space base in northern China's Shanxi province. The two-stage booster, propelled by a noxious mix of hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide, deftly guided the secret Yaogan 6 satellite into orbit, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Tracking data indicate the rocket achieved a sun-synchronous orbit with an average altitude of about 300 miles [480 km].

China will use Yaogan 6 for land resource surveys, environmental surveillance, urban planning, crop yield estimates, disaster response, and space science experiments, Xinhua reported.

But Western analysts believe the spacecraft is actually a military reconnaissance satellite, possibly outfitted with a night-vision, cloud-piercing radar that can observe objects on the ground during darkness and all weather conditions.

The Yaogan series is likely a cover for a fleet of spy satellites carrying radars and digital optical observation equipment.

Yaogan satellites have been launched from Taiyuan and the Jiuquan space center.

Source: Spaceflight Now, Observation satellite launched into orbit by China and AGIs Launch Notification Service.

DOD's eye in the sky supporting troops on the ground

by Staff Sgt. Raymond Hoy, 30th Space Wing Public Affairs

For the troops on the ground in hot zones all around the world, there are many items they rely on that are vital in their day-to-day operations: their weapons, their wingmen, their body armor. But what about their space assets?

The Defense Department's space assets don't always come to mind as key items in the daily operations of the commander on the ground in operational areas like Iraq and Afghanistan. And perhaps no other unit has as much of a direct affect on those operations than the Joint Space Operations Center, or JSpOC, here.

The JSpOC is a busy mix of U.S. servicemembers from the Air Force, Navy, Army and Marines; foreign servicemembers from Australia, Great Britain and Canada; and a select group of civilian counterparts, who provide a focal point for the operational employment of worldwide joint space forces. These are the people who enable the commander of the Joint Functional Component Command for Space to integrate space power into global military operations.

"We provide operational command and control for the space forces that are assigned to the Joint Functional Component Command for Space in (U.S. Strategic Command)," said Col. Richard Boltz, the JSpOC director. "We provide the overall guidance, direction and execution of the space mission through the Joint Space Operations Center."

And while many of those requests come from STRATCOM, many actually come directly from commanders in the field.

"We obviously receive tasks directly from STRATCOM," Colonel Boltz said. "However, we have relationships set up with directors of space forces in each one of the combatant commands, and, often times, the request for space support within a theater will typically come from (a lieutenant colonel) or (a colonel) out in the field directly to the JSpOC asking for a specific service. We'll answer the request however it may happen to come to us."

"I work with the different geographic commanders and their space liaisons and make sure that they receive whatever they need in regards to space," said Tech. Sgt. Jonathan Drayer, a space operations duty officer. "We will take what we do and tinker it to fit the need that the commander may have for any particular mission. Whether it's GPS or communications satellites, instead of just making sure it's up and running, we try to maximize the potential of those assets."

One of the most common requests to the JSpOC has to do with GPS. Most people think they can simply turn on their GPS unit and everything will be fine. However, GPS systems are sensitive to things like the number of GPS satellites in view. And, while many people wouldn't notice or could simply wait out a problem, the military GPS units are much more relied on and need to be extremely accurate when called upon.

"There are aircraft out there with older GPS navigation units on them and they will have specific GPS needs like how many satellites are in view," Sergeant Drayer said. "We will do a prediction for them saying, 'If you are flying this route with this aircraft, at these waypoints, your GPS navigation system will operate properly.' This way the pilots know whether or not they can use their GPS as a navigation tool or not."

When not working directly with the warfighter, JSpOC operators also work 24-hours per day monitoring the more than 19,000 pieces of space debris currently orbiting the planet. This particular mission led to their direct involvement in one of the most high-profile operations they have been a part of to date: Operation Burnt Frost. This nationally publicized event thrust the JspOC to center stage of the national media.

In this operation, a non-functioning National Reconnaissance Office satellite had lost power and began making its gradual decent out of orbit. While many items fall out of orbit and make the rapid decent back toward earth, most of those items never make it all the way to the ground. This particular, rather large satellite, however, would not burn up completely in the atmosphere, and due to the fact that it failed shortly after launch, it had a nearly full tank of hydrazine, a particularly hazardous material used as a fuel source on the satellite.

For this mission, the JSpOC operators provided command and control for the global network of sensors known as the Space Surveillance Network to track the satellite's movements. They also assessed the solar environment's effects on the Earth's atmosphere, which impacts how a satellite's orbit decays. All of the information gathered was then shared with each agency involved in the operation.

"The Aegis missile system didn't have radar track of the satellite when it launched its missile," Colonel Boltz said. "It was launching to a specific point in space where the satellite was predicted to be at a specific time. Our sensors had been tracking that satellite and our operators were the ones who provided that point in space to shoot at. They provided the target quality positional data of where that satellite was expected to be, which enabled the Navy to shoot, in the blind essentially, to that specific point."

And while the JSpOC team played an integral role in the destruction of the wayward satellite, the job didn't stop there. The destruction added approximately 150 more pieces of space debris to the more than 19,000 already tracked.

The JSpOC has come a long way since its activation in May of 2005. And the unit will continue to strive for success in its support of all space-related DOD functions while still growing into its full potential in the coming years.

"Anything that we can provide to help out the troops in a war zone, that's what we're here for," Sergeant Drayer said. "I personally take pride in what I do while I'm doing what I can to support the guys out there living in the dirt, roughin' it. The guys trying to talk on the radio having problems because at certain times of the day the atmosphere messes with their radio communications, that's the important stuff. Those guys need to be able to count on their communications and GPS. They expect it to be there. They don't get up in the morning and say, 'I hope it's working today.' It's important for us to do what we can to ensure they have what they need."

39 Brazilian Milsatcom Pirates Arrested

According to Paulo T and the Hearsat newsgroup, a major bust has occured down in Brazil. For many years pirates have hijacked transponders on the various military UHF satellites for their own use. I have received hundreds of reports on these illegal operations over the last couple of decades. And now for the first time DoD has struck back to gain control of their radio assets.

Paulo T posted the following to Hearsat yesterday afternoon:
"It came to my attention that our brazilian friends on Fleetsat and UFO frequencies got a nasty surprise today, from their federal police and Brazil´s comunications authority.

"According to the news, 39 persons got busted, one was arrested and large amounts of equipement seized. All of them are licenced amateur radio operators whose operating location was determined by the U.S. Department of Defense, in cooperation with Brazilian federal police and other U.S. agencies. Besides all of these equipment seizures, the authorities have identified the manufacturers of some of the hardware used, one of them actually was arrested."

Some links, in Portuguese for now:

http://www.estadao.com.br/noticias/geral,apreendidos-aparelhos-de-comunicacao-ilegal-por-satelite,340892,0.htm

http://www.uai.com.br/UAI/html/sessao_2/2009/03/18/em_noticia_interna,id_sessao=2&id_noticia=103003/em_noticia_interna.shtml

http://www.otempo.com.br/noticias/ultimas/?IdNoticia=35429

http://www.fatimanews.com.br/canais/noticias/?id=81792

My thanks to Paulo and Hearsat for passing along this interesting story.

Proton Conducts Russian Military Commsat Launch

Aviation Week and Space Technology is reporting a Proton K Block DM-2 rocket launch at 7:10 AM Moscow time on Feb. 28, that has placed in orbit a Raduga-1 military communications satellite. Russian space officials said the 2 metric-ton spacecraft separated without incident. Also known as the Globus-1, Raduga-1 was developed by Reshetnev ISS to provide communications for the Russian government and strategic armed forces.

You can get more details at http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=space&id=news/PRO030209.xml

Persona launch postponed

The Russian strategic nuclear forces blog is reporting that the launch of a new Russian optical reconnaissance satellite, known as Persona, has been postponed to the first quarter of 2008. According to Gen.-Col. Vladimir Popovkin, the commander of the Space Forces, the delay is needed to complete work on the satellite. The launch was originally scheduled for the third quarter of 2007. Popovkin reported that the launcher that will be used in the launch, Soyuz-2.1b, is ready for the flight.

The program seems to be aimed at development of an electronic optical reconnaissance satellite that would include a telescope/sensor package known as 17V321, which is being built at LOMO. This package was reported to be a modification of the 17V317 one, installed on Arkon satellites. The Persona program, however, is quite separate from Arkon.

Here is where accounts begin to differ. The LOMO site seems to suggest that Persona is part of the Condor program, which includes a satellite developed at NPO Mashinostroyeniye to be deployed by the Strela launcher. Other sources suggest that the new telescope will be deployed on a satellite that is being built by TsSKB in Samara and which would be a modified Resurs-DK spacecraft (which is yet to be flown itself).

Second Glonass launch of 2007

The Russian strategic nuclear forces blog is reporting on December 25, 2007 Russia successfully launched Proton-M rocket from the Baykonur launch site (launch pad No. 24 of the launch complex No. 81). The launch took place at 22:32:34 MSK (19:32:34 UTC). The rocket, equipped with DM upper stage, delivered three Glonass-M navigation satellites into orbit.

The satellites have been deployed in semi-synchronous circular orbits with altitude of about 19130 km and the inclination of 64.7 degrees. The satellites received international designations 2007-065A, 2007-066B, and 2007-067C. At this time, the only available NORAD catalog number is 32393 for the 2007-065A satellite. Two other satellites are likely to be assigned NORAD numbers 32394 and 32395. Official Russian designations for the spacecraft have not been announced yet, but it is likely that the satellites will be designated Cosmos-2435, Cosmos-2436, and Cosmos-2437. Reported internal Glonass numbers are 21, 22, and 23.

The satellites are deployed in the second orbital plane of the Glonass constellation, complementing three active satellites there. The table below shows the current distribution of satellites. [The table will be updated as the information becomes available.]

Previous launch of Glonass satellites took place on October 26, 2007.

SSC#   NORAD name      Intl Desig Russian desig Plane/point Glonass number  
26566  Cosmos-2374     2000-063C  783  3/18  [1]  
26987  Cosmos-2382     2001-053A  711  1/5  [1][2]  
26988  Cosmos-2381     2001-053B  789  1/3  [1]  
27617  Cosmos-2394     2002-060A  791  3/22  [1]  
27619  Cosmos-2395     2002-060C  792  3/21  [1]   
28112  Cosmos-2404     2003-056A  701  1/6  [3]  
28113  Cosmos-2402     2003-056B  794  1/2  [1]   
28114  Cosmos-2403     2003-056C  795  1/4     
28508  Cosmos-2413  Cosmos-2411  2004-053A  796  1/1     
28509  Cosmos-2411  Cosmos-2413  2004-053B  712  1/7  [3]  
28510  Cosmos-2412     2004-053C  797  1/8     
28915  Cosmos-2419     2005-050A  714  3/23  [3]  
28916  Cosmos-2418     2005-050B  713  3/24  [3]  
28917  Cosmos-2417     2005-050C  798  3/22  [1][4]  
29670  Cosmos-2425     2006-062A  716  2/15  [3]  
29671  Cosmos-2426     2006-062B  717  2/10  [3]  
29672  Cosmos-2424     2006-062C  715  2/14  [3]  
32275  Cosmos-2433     2007-052A  720  3/19  [3]  
32276  Cosmos-2432     2007-052B  719  3/20  [3]  
32277  Cosmos-2431     2007-052C  718  3/17  [3]  
32393  Cosmos-24??     2007-065A  72?  2/??  [3]  
32394  Cosmos-24??     2007-065B  72?  2/??  [3]  
32395  Cosmos-24??     2007-065C  72?  2/??  [3]  

[1] Not active as of December 27, 2007
[2] Glonass-M prototype
[3] Glonass-M
[4] Moved from the point 3/19 in November 2007 

Military Satellite Launch Schedule

Here is the latest military satellite launch schedule for the US Department of Defense.

2007
Sep 21/22 -- Wideband Gapfiller Satellite F1 -- Atlas 5 -- CCAFS -- Mil Comsat

Sep ? -- Celestis 05 and TacSat 1 -- Falcon 1 -- Kwajalein -- Experimental Comsat

Oct 4 -- DSP 23 -- Delta 4 Heavy -- CCAFS -- Missile Early Warning Satellite
Oct 17 -- GPS 2R-17 (M4) -- Delta 2 -- CCAFS -- Navsat
Nov 17 -- NRO 24 -- Atlas 5 -- CCAFS -- US NRO Spy Satellite
Nov 25 -- Block 2006: Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) -- Delta 2 --CCAFS -- Missile Defense Technology Satellite

2008
Jan 25 -- NRO 26 -- Delta 4 Heavy -- CCAFS -- US NRO Spy Satellite
Feb 21 -- Block 2010: Spacecraft Risk Reduction -- Delta 2 -- VAFB -- Technology Satellite
Mar 15 -- TacSat 3 -- Minotaur -- Mid-Atlantic, Wallops -- Technology Research Satellite
Apr 1 -- Block 06: STSS -- Delta 2 --CCAFS -- technology demonstrator for ballastic missile tracking.

Secret US Satellites

Story originally published on this blog on June 9, 2007.

Story By PETER B. de SELDING, Space News Staff Writer from Space.com, June 8, 2007,
http://www.space.com/news/060707_graves_web.html

Blognote: The Graves French Space Surveillance radar is located near Dijon, France and operates on 143.050 MHz. It uses a powerful transmitter transmitting a continues wave carrier. Here is a screenshot of the ISS crossing the Graves RF fence courtesy of of Paul J. Marsh at
http://www.pe1itr.com/graves/capt0701140741.jpg. According to Paul There are four antenna beams "sweeping" there sectors. The Graves sourcebook gives good info about the radar at http://www.fas.org/spp/military/program/track/graves.pdf.

A French space surveillance radar has detected 20 to 30 satellites in low Earth orbit that do NOT figure in the U.S. Defence Department's catalogue.

After 16 months operation of its Graves radar system, which can locate satellites in orbits up to 1,000 kilometres in altitude, the French Defence Ministry says it has gathered just about enough information to pressure U.S. authorities to stop publishing the whereabouts of French reconnaissance and military communications satellites.

The U.S. Defense Department's Space Surveillance Network is the world's gold standard for cataloguing satellites and debris in both low Earth orbit and the higher geostationary orbit at 36,000 kilometres in altitude, where telecommunications satellites operate.

Data from the U.S. network of ground-based sensors are regularly published and used worldwide by those tracking satellite and space debris trajectories. The published information excludes sensitive U.S. defence satellites, but regularly includes data on the orbits of other nations' military hardware.

The Graves radar, and a complementary system operated by the German government, together are enough to pinpoint the location, size, orbit and transmission frequency of satellites - data which the U.S. would prefer not to be broadcast worldwide, French officials said.

'We have discussed the Graves results with our American colleagues and highlighted the discrepancies between what we have found and what is published by the US Space Surveillance Network,' said one French defence official. 'They told us, "If we have not published it in our catalogue, then it does not exist." So I guess we have been tracking objects that do not exist. I can tell you that some of these non-existent objects have solar arrays.'"

GRAVES - The French Space Surveillance System

According to the American space catalog, more than 9,000 satellites or objects larger than ten centimeters are orbiting the Earth. Many of these overfly France daily, constituting a potential threat for the country. Until now, only the Americans and Russians have had an operational space surveillance system. In the early nineties, Onera proposed an independent system dubbed "Graves" for this, to watch satellites in low orbit (altitude less than 1,000 km).

The Graves system was developed under DGA contract and consists of a specific radar combined with an automatic processing system that creates and updates a database of the orbital parameters for the satellites it detects.

The Graves radar was specifically designed for space surveillance in cooperation among DEMR and DPRS specialists. The priority objective was to design a low-cost system, both in terms of development and maintenance. This led to an original bistatic radar concept with electronic scanning and continuous VHF band emission. The reception system is based on Doppler detection, and uses an innovative beam formation technique, by calculation. Using very conventional technology subassemblies, making it reliable and maintainable, radar performance is based on high-level signal processing requiring all the power of a dedicated real-time computer.

Downstream of the radar, a major effort was made to develop programs to convert the raw measurements into an orbital parameter database. This was a very ambitious technical challenge because, contrary to the American system that uses many sensors distributed around the globe, the tools developed for the Graves system only process the measurements from a single sensor.

After 15 years of work, the Graves system was delivered to its end user, the Air force, in November 2005. Operational since then, it has been keeping a database of some 2,000 satellites up to date. For a few dozen "sensitive" satellites, the U.S. does not publish the corresponding orbital elements.

Military Satellite Launch Manifest Update

Here is the latest US Military Satellite Manifest courtesy of Steven S. Pietrobon at Small World Communications, in Payneham South SA, Australia. Source: http://www.sworld.com.au/steven/space/usmil-man.txt

UNITED STATES MILITARY MANIFEST (18 Jun 2007)
 USA     Date    Launch Vehicle      
                 Payload
---------------------------------------------
  -    9 Mar 07  Atlas V401 (AV-013) 
                 STPSat 1, Orbital Express
                 (NEXTSat-CSC, ASTRO), STPSat
                 1, CFESat, Falconsat 3,
                 MidSTAR 1, MEPSI Picosat (2)
* -   20 Mar 07  Falcon I F2         
                 DemoSat
  -   24 Apr 07  Minotaur I F7       
                 NFIRE (Near-Field Infrared
                 Experiment)
 194  15 Jun 07  Atlas V401 (AV-009) 
                 NROL-30R (Ocean Surveillance)
         Jun 07  Delta IVM           
                 NROL-25
         Jul 07  Delta II (732X)     
                 SBIRS II
       1 Aug 07  Minotaur I          
                 MDA-DST
      10 Aug 07  Atlas V421 (AV-011) 
                 WGS-1
         Sep 07  Delta IVH/4050H     
                 DSP-23
         Sep 07  Falcon I            
                 TacSat 1, [Celestis 05]
         Sep 07  Delta II (7925)
                 NAVSTAR/GPS IIRM-4
      24 Oct 07  Atlas V401
                 NROL-24
         Oct 07  Delta IVM
                 NAVSTAR/GPS IIF-1
       8 Nov 07  Delta II
                 Block 2010 Spacecraft
                 Risk Reduction
      25 Nov 07  Delta II
                 STSS 1, STSS 2 (Block 2006)
         Nov 07  Atlas V521
                 NROL-29
         Nov 07  Delta II (7925)
                 NAVSTAR/GPS IIRM-5
         Dec 07  Minotaur I
                 TacSat 3
         Dec 07  Delta IVH
                 NROL-26
         Dec 07  Atlas V411 (AV-006)
                 NROL-28
         Dec 07  Delta II
                 XSS-12
         Dec 07  Atlas V401
                 SBIRS-High F-1
             07  Atlas V521
                 WGS-3
             07  Delta II (732X)
                 SBIRS I
---------------------------------------------
         Jan 08  Delta II
                 NAVSTAR/GPS IIRM-6
         Jan 08  TBD
                 MPE (Multiple Payload Ejector)
#        Feb 08  Delta IVM
                 WGS-2
#        Apr 08  Delta II
                 NAVSTAR/GPS IIRM-7
#        Apr 08  Falcon IX
                 US Government
#        Apr 08  Minotaur IV
                 TacSat 4
         Apr 08  Atlas V501
                 NROL-39
         Apr 08  Atlas V531
                 AEHF F-1            
         Apr 08  Atlas V401
                 DMSP-5D3 F18
      18 Jun 08  Pegasus XL
                 C/NOFS (P00-3, CINDI)
         Dec 08  Minotaur IV
                 SBSS
             08  Atlas V401
                 NAVSTAR/GPS IIF-2
             08  Atlas V401
                 NAVSTAR/GPS IIF-3
             08  Atlas V401
                 NAVSTAR/GPS IIF-4
             08  Delta IVM
                 NAVSTAR/GPS IIF-5
             08  Atlas V401
                 SBIRS H-2
             08  Atlas V401
                 NAVSTAR/GPS IIF-6
---------------------------------------------
              09  Atlas V401
                  NAVSTAR/GPS IIF-7
              09  Atlas V401
                  NAVSTAR/GPS IIF-8
              09  Delta IVM
                  NAVSTAR/GPS IIF-9
---------------------------------------------
              10  Delta IVM
                  NAVSTAR/GPS IIF-10
              10  Delta IVM+(4,2)
                  SBIRS H-3
---------------------------------------------
                  Minotaur    MightySat-II.2
                  Atlas V501  NROL-41
                  Atlas V501  NROL-45
---------------------------------------------
*       Launch failure
-       No USA number assigned
#       Change since beginning of month
AEHF    Advanced Extreme High Frequency
        Satellite
ASTRO   Autonomous Space Transporter and
        Robotic Orbiter
CFESat  Cibola Flight Experiment Satellite
C/NOFS  Communication/Navigation Outage
        Forecasting System
DMSP    Defense Meteorological Satellite Program
GPS     Global Positioning System
MDA-DST Missile Defense Agency Direct to
        Satellite Telemetry
METOC   Naval Meteorological and Oceanography
        Command
MLV     Medium Launch Vehicle
NEXTSat-CSC  Next Generation Satellite and
        Commodities Spacecraft
NROL    National Reconnaissance Office Launch
SBIRS-H Space Based Infra Red Sensor -
        High Altitude
SBSS    Space Based Surveillance System
STPSat  Space Test Program Satellite
STSS    Space Tracking and Surveillance System
SVN     Space Vehicle Number
WGS     Wideband Gapfiller Satellite
XSS     Experimental Satellite System

The dates listed are those for GMT. All information was obtained from public sources. If anyone can fill in the question marks or provide corrections which is public knowledge please let me know. Square brackets indicate secondary non-military payloads.

Steven S. Pietrobon, Small World Communications, 6 First Avenue, Payneham South SA 5070, Australia fax +61 8 8332 3177 mailto:steven@sworld.com.au http://www.sworld.com.au