Lift Off Time
|February 02, 2021 – 20:45 UTC | 23:45 MSK|
|Lotos-S1 n°05, the fifth overall Lotos-S satellite|
|Russian Federal Space Agency|
|Russian Space Forces|
|Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia|
|6,000 kg (~13,000 lbs)|
Where are the satellites going?
|~900 km circular Sun-Synchronous Orbit|
Will they be attempting to recover the first stage?
|No, this is not a capability of Soyuz|
Will they be attempting to recover the fairings?
|No, this is not a capability of Soyuz|
Are these fairings new?
This will be the:
|– 58th launch of Soyuz 2.1b|
– 9th orbital launch attempt of 2021
Where to watch
|Official livestream (if available)|
What’s all this mean?
The Russian Federal Space Agency will launch the Lotos-S1 electronic intelligence (ELINT) satellite on a Soyuz 2.1b rocket into a 900 km Sun-Synchronous orbit. The rocket will take off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, in Russia. The Lotos satellite will be the fourth non-development satellite in the Lotos ELINT constellation.
What is Liana?
Liana is Russia’s second generation space-based surveillance system, replacing the current Tseliuna-2 and Pion-NKS constellations. So far, the constellation consists of a singular Lotos-S development satellite, which has been used as a tech demonstrator for the 3 operational satellites. Russia plans on having 8 operational satellites in this constellation, which likely won’t be complete until near the end of the decade.
The Liana constellation is an ELINT (electronic intelligence) constellation of satellites that are used alongside optical and radar spacecraft. ELINT satellites are able to detect and analyze radio signals from ground based and mobile assets. The radio signals that the satellite intercepts will be used to locate, characterize, and target buildings, vehicles, and boats. The satellites are also likely equipped with radio jammers, which can be used to prevent communication between Russia’s enemies.
Due to the classified nature of this satellite very little specific information about Lotos-S1 satellites is known. The Russian military contracted TsSKB-Progress to build the satellite bus and KB Arsenal to build the payload. The satellite has two deployable solar arrays, some batteries, and a mass of ~6,000 kg.
What is Soyuz 2.1b?
Introduced in 1966, the Soyuz rocket (also known as R7) has been the workhorse of the Soviet/Russian space program. The first launch of the Soyuz 2.1a, on November 8, 2004 from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, represented a major step in the Soyuz launch vehicle’s development program.
The Soyuz version currently being used for most satellite launches is a four-stage launch vehicle, that consists of:
- four side boosters
- a central core booster
- an upper (central) stage which is common to all Soyuz rockets regardless of payload
- an optional Fregat upper stage (not being used on this mission)
Each side booster has a singular RD-107A engine, which runs on liquid oxygen and RP1. The RP-1 tanks are located in the cylindrical part of the booster, and the liquid oxygen tanks are in the conical section. Each engine has four combustion chambers and four nozzles, which is common in older Russian engines as the USSR could not solve the problem of combustion instability in large nozzles.
During side booster separation, the boosters perform a well-known pattern, in which they peel off and cartwheel outwards. This is known as the “Korolev cross,” named after Sergei Korolev, the Chief Design Engineer of the USSR space program in the 1960s.
Soyuz Center Core
The center core is fitted with an RD-108A engine, which also has four combustion chambers and four nozzles. The engine contains four attitude thrusters, used for three-axis flight control once the side boosters have separated. The center core also runs on RP1 and LOx.
The third stage uses an RD-0124 engine on the ST-B (2.1b) version. This closed cycle engine once again runs on LOx and RP1, producing 294 kN of thrust, and having an ISP of 359 seconds.