![]() Kondor-E (Export) | |
Manufacturer | NPO Mashinostroyeniya |
---|---|
Country of origin | Russia |
Applications | Optical imaging Radar imaging |
Specifications | |
Launch mass | 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb) |
Regime | Low Earth |
Design life | 3-5 years |
Production | |
Status | In production |
On order | 4 |
Built | 3 |
Launched | 3 |
Operational | 2 |
Maiden launch | Kosmos 2487 (Kondor No.202) [1] 27 June 2013 |
Last launch | Kondor-FKA No.1 26 May 2023 |
Kondor, GRAU index 14F133, is a series of Earth imaging or military reconnaissance satellites developed by NPO Mashinostroyeniya for the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces which in 2015 became the Russian Space Forces and export customers. [2] Satellites for the Russian military are designated "Kondor", whilst those for export are designated Kondor-E.
Kondor satellites are equipped to carry either synthetic aperture radar or electro-optical imaging payloads, with the first satellite, and are launched using the Strela carrier rocket, developed by NPO Mashinostroyeniya from retired UR-100NUTTKh missiles. [3]
A mass simulator named Gruzomaket (aka Kondor-E-GVM, COSPAR 2003-055A [4] ) was launched on 5 December 2003, and almost ten years later, on 27 June 2013, the first spacecraft was launched. Kondor No.202 (aka Kosmos 2487, Kondor 1, COSPAR 2013-032A [5] ) was operated by the Russian military, [1] and carried a radar imaging payload. [6] It was the first radar imaging satellite to be operated by the Russian military after the Soviet RORSAT and Almaz-T series. The first Kondor-E (Kondor-E 1, COSPAR 2014-084A [7] ) launched 19 December 2014 for South Africa. [8]
Civilian versions of the satellite have been designed under the name Kondor-FKA or Kondor-FKA-M. [9] [10] The launch of the first Kondor-FKA satellite took place on 26 May 2023 from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, [11] while the launch of the second is planned for 2024. [12]
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