Bars-M No. 3

Mission

Bars-M No. 3

Type: Government/Top Secret

Bars-M is the second incarnation of the Bars project, which was started in the mid 1990ies to develop a successor for the Komtea class of area surveillance satellites. The original Bars project was halted in the early 2000s. In 2007, TsSKB-Progress was contracted for Bars-M, for which reportedly the Yantar-based service module was replaced by a new developed advanced service module. The Bars-M satellites feature an electro-optical camera system called Karat, which is developed and built by the Leningrad Optical Mechanical Association (LOMO), and a dual laser altimeter instrument to deliver topographic imagery, stereo images, altimeter data and high-resolution images with a ground resolution around 1 meter.

Location

43/4 (43R)

Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

72 rockets have launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation.

Rocket

Soyuz 2.1a

Length: 46.3 meters
Diameter: 2.95 meters
First Launch: November 4, 2004

The Soyuz 2.1A converted the flight control system from analog to digital, which allowed launch from fixed platforms. It also allowed big fairings and payloads.

The Soyuz 2.1a rocket has been launched a total of 24 times with 23 successful and 1 failed launches.

Agency

Russian Space Forces

Type: Government
Abbreviation: VKS
Administration: Aleksandr Golovko
Founded: 1992

Country: RUS

The Russian Space Forces are a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces, that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection for Russia. Having been reestablished following August 1, 2015 merger between the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces after a 2011 dissolving of the branch. The Russian Space Forces were originally formed on August 10, 1992 and the creation of the Russian Armed Forces.