 Strela | |
| Manufacturer | NPO PM |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Soviet Union Russia |
| Operator | VKS /GRU VKO |
| Applications | Military communications |
| Specifications | |
| Power | 40 watts fromsolar panels |
| Batteries | Nickel hydrogen |
| Equipment | UHF transponders (NATOB /D band) Data rate of up to 64 kb/s) |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Design life | 5 years |
| Production | |
| Status | Operational |
| Related spacecraft | |
| Derivatives | Gonets (civil satellites) |
Strela (Russian:Стрела, forArrow) is a Russian (previouslySoviet) militarycommunications satellite constellation operating inlow Earth orbit. These satellites operate asmailboxes ("store-and-forward"): they remember the received messages and then resend them after the scheduled time, or by a command from the Earth. Some sources state the satellites are capable of only three months of active operation, but through coordination with others[1] they can serve for about five years. The satellites are used for transmission ofencrypted messages and images.
The first three satellites,Kosmos 38 (reentered 8 November 1964),Kosmos 39 (reentered 17 November 1964) andKosmos 40 (reentered 17 November 1964), were launched on 18 August 1964. Five different types of Strela satellites (six if one counts the Rodnik aka Strela-3M satellites) have been launched, designatedStrela-1 (1964–1965),Strela-1M (1970–1992),Strela-2 (1965–1968),Strela-2M (1970–1994), andStrela-3 (1985–2010).[2][3][4][5][6][7] Strela satellites are also used for the civilianGonets program. The current version of Strela,Strela-3M is also known asRodnik (2005–present).[8]
In 2018 Austrian counterintelligence authorities identified an officer of theBundesheer, Martin M. as a Russian spy. During the investigation, Austrian counterintelligence found a small suitcase. It had radio-communication equipment built into it so that Martin M. was able to connect to Strela-3 satellites and receive and send encrypted messages. The authorities also found a list of times when the satellite was positioned over Austria.[9]
The following observations were published in 2011: On 244.512 MHz a Strela-satellite generates a 0.5s long 'trigger pulse' every 60 seconds; the purpose is to activate ground based transmitters waiting to send a message. Satellites were identified by measuring the time of closest approach using aDoppler curve. Received messages are then re-transmitted on the second known frequency at 261.035 MHz.[10]