Kanopus also known as Canopus, is a series of Russian Earth Observation satellite developed and operated by Roscosmos, primarily through the Research and Production Corporation VNIIEM. The program is designed for real-time monitoring of natural and man-made disasters, environmental changes, agriculture, cartography, and resource management. The Kanopus satellites operate in Sun-synchronous orbits at approximately 500–510 km altitude, offering high-resolution imaging and frequent revisits. The program emphasizes cost-effective, modular designs using the Kanopus bus platform, with contributions from international partners such as Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) of the United Kingdom for avionics and software.[1]
The Kanopus program was initiated in the early 2000s to enhance Russia's domestic Earth observation capabilities. The initial design for Kanopus-V (Canopus-B) was proposed by 2008, with a planned mass of 350 kg, which increased to 473 kg by 2011 due to design refinements. Payload capacity was adjusted from 150 kg to 108 kg, power output from 350 W to 300 W, and the operational lifespan reduced from 7 to 5 years. The satellites were configured for a Sun-synchronous orbit at 510–540 km with a 97.4–97.5° inclination to optimize illumination.
Development faced delays due to a 2007 agreement with Belarus to co-develop the BKA satellite, a near-identical copy of Kanopus-V, as a replacement for Belarus's lost BelKA spacecraft. This led to a joint launch in 2012. The program has since expanded to include infrared-capable variants and proposals for radar (Kanopus-R) and cartography (Kanopus-K) models, though some, like Kanopus-VM, were canceled before 2019. As of 2025, the Kanopus constellation supports Russian federal agencies for applications such as forest fire detection, earthquake prediction, and coastal monitoring.[2]
Variants
The Kanopus family of satellites have many variants for several applications:
Kanopus-V
The baseline model, designed for high-resolution panchromatic and multispectral Earth observation. It features a 2.1 m resolution panchromatic camera (20 km swath) and a 10.5 m resolution multispectral camera (41 km swath). Applications include disaster monitoring, urban planning, and agriculture.[3][4]
Kanopus-V-IK is the infrared-capable variant modified from Kanopus-V №2 satellite, equipped for thermal imaging. It can detect fire sources as small as 5x5 m over a 2,000 km area.[5][6]
BKA is the Belarusian variant, nearly identical to Kanopus-V, It is developed under a Russia-Belarus agreement. It is operated by Belarus for national Earth observation purposes.[7]
Kanopus-ST
Kanopus-ST is an experimental military variant launched in 2015 on a Soyuz-2.1v rocket for submarine tracking and defense-related tests. Details remain limited due to its classified nature.[8]
Kanopus-VO
Next-generation models with expanded coverage (up to 100 km swath) and improved infrared sensors, planned for enhanced disaster response by 2025–2026.
Other concepts, such as Kanopus-D (detailed observation) and Zond-PP (related platform), have been tested as secondary payloads.[9]
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).
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