Kometa

A variation of the Yantar-class spacecraft appeared in 1981 (Kosmos 1246) to conduct high-precision topographic surveys. These spacecraft, now referred to as Kometa, typically remain in orbit for 44-45 days and are distinguished by their relatively circular orbits between 210 and 280 km. The Kettering Groupalso regularly detects geodetic-type signals at 150.3 MHz from this satellite class. Kometa missions are always launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome into inclinations of 65 degrees or 70 degrees at the rate of one or two per year.

The only successful mission of this type during 1993-1994 was performed by Kosmos 2284 (29 July 1994). Another Kometa flight was attempted on 27 April under the name of Kosmos 2243. However, the final stage of its Soyuz-U launch vehicle malfunctioned, causing an immediate activation of Kosmos 2243's self destruction system upon reaching orbit. Kometa spacecraft are believed to carry (1) the TK-35010-m resolution stereo camera system, produced by the Belarus Optical Camera Company, with an Earth's surface field-of-view of 180 km by 270 km and (2) the KVR-10002-m resolution camera system with an image field of-view of 40 km by 40 km.