US-KMO

US-KMO (Russian: УС-КМО), [note 1] is a series of Russian, previously Soviet, satellites which are used to identify ballistic missile launches. They provide early warning of missile attack and give information for the Moscow A-135 anti-ballistic missile system. They were run by the Russian Space Forces and it was succeeded by the Aerospace Defence Forces.

US-KMO

Manufacturer	NPO Lavochkin
Country of origin	Soviet Union  Russia
Operator	VKS (1991–2011) VKO (2011—)
Applications	Early warning/Missile defence
Specifications
Bus	GRAU: 71Kh6
Design life	5-7 years [1]
Launch mass	2600
Regime	Geosynchronous
Dimensions
Production
Status	Out of production
Launched	8
Operational	1
Retired	4
Failed	3
Lost	0
Maiden launch	Kosmos 2133 14 February 1991
Last launch	Kosmos 2479 30 March 2012
Related spacecraft
Derived from	US-KS

These satellites are part of the Oko programme and are in geosynchronous orbit 35,750 km above the Earth's equator. This means that they are always in the same place with the same field of view. Western locations give Russia coverage of missile launches in the United States whereas more eastern ones give coverage of China and the Middle East.[2] They complement ground-based early warning radars and the US-K satellites which are in molniya orbits.

The first prototype satellite was launched on 8 October 1975, atop a Proton-K/DM-2 carrier rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome. The most recent, and last of the series, was launched on 30 March 2012.[3] As of December 2015, the entire Oko programme is being replaced by the new EKS system.[4][5][6]

Technical information

US-KMO satellites were built by NPO Lavochkin. They feature a 1-metre diameter infrared telescope with a 4.5 metre hood which identifies missiles by their exhausts.[1] They have an operational life of 5 to 7 years, although actual performance has been variable.

The satellites have the GRAU index 71Kh6.

The Oko western control centre is at Serpukhov-15, Moscow Oblast [7] although Podvig notes [8] that satellites in the 3 easternmost positions would be out of range of this centre, and would be controlled by the eastern control centre at Pivan-1, Khabarovsk Krai.[9]

Naming

24°W

12°E

35°E

80°E

130°E

166°E

159°W

Location of the seven satellite positions above the equator

These satellites have been mistakenly described as Prognoz (unrelated to the earlier Prognoz SO-M programme)[8] as the positions they occupy are reserved with the ITU under the codename Prognoz.[8][10]

Location Name [8]	Longitude [8]	Control Centre [8]	Satellites [8]
Prognoz-1	24°W	Serpukhov-15	Kosmos 2379 Kosmos 2282 Kosmos 2224 Kosmos 2133
Prognoz-2	12°E	Serpukhov-15	Kosmos 2224 Kosmos 2133
Prognoz-3	35°E	Serpukhov-15	Kosmos 2133
Prognoz-4	80°E	Serpukhov-15	Kosmos 2379 Kosmos 2350 Kosmos 2133 Kosmos 2440 Kosmos 2479
Prognoz-5	130°E	Pivan-1?
Prognoz-6	166°E	Pivan-1?
Prognoz-7	159°W	Pivan-1?

Satellites

Satellite	COSPAR ID	SATCAT No.	Product Number[1]	Launch Date	Estimated End Date	Estimated Operational Life
Kosmos 2133	1991-010A	21111	7120	14 February 1991	9 November 1995 [8]	4 years 9 months
Kosmos 2224	1992-088A	22269	7121	17 December 1992	17 June 1999 [8]	6 years 6 months
Kosmos 2282	1994-038A	23168	7123	6 July 1994	29 December 1995 [8]	1 year 5 months
Kosmos 2350	1998-025A	25315	7122	29 April 1998	29 June 1998 [8]	2 months
Kosmos 2379	2001-037A	26892	7124	24 August 2001	late 2009/early 2010 [2]	8 years
Kosmos 2397	2003-015A	27775	7126	24 April 2003	June 2003 [11]	2 months
Kosmos 2440	2008-033A	33108	7127	26 June 2008	February 2010 [12]	1 year 4 months
Kosmos 2479	2012-012A	38101		30 March 2012

See also

• US-KS
• US-K
• Defense Support Program, a similar United States system
• EKS, the new system replacing the entire Oko programme.

Notes

1. an abbreviation for Upravlyaemy Sputnik - Kontinenty Morya Okeany (Russian: Управляемый Спутник - Континенты Моря Океаны) meaning Controllable Satellite - Continents, Oceans, Seas

References

1. "Hartron-Arkos:Control Systems for Space and Ground Applications". Hartron-Arkos. n.d. Archived from the original on 2012-03-08. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
2. Pavel, Podvig (2010-04-28). "Early warning system is down to three satellites". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
3. Graham, William (2012-03-29). "Russian Proton-K completes 45 years of service with US-KMO satellite launch". NASA Spaceflight. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
4. "Soyuz 2-1B launches EKS-1 to upgrade Russian Early Warning System". Retrieved 2015-12-17.
5. Pavel, Podvig (2012-03-30). "Cosmos-2479 - new geostationary early warning satellite". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
6. Christy, Robert (n.d.). "2012-012". Zarya. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
7. Holm, Michael (2011). "916th independent Radio-Technical Unit". Soviet Armed Forces 1945-1991. Retrieved 2012-04-22.
8. Podvig, Pavel (2002). "History and the Current Status of the Russian Early-Warning System" (PDF). Science and Global Security. 10: 21–60. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.692.6127. doi:10.1080/08929880212328. ISSN 0892-9882. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-15.
9. Holm, Michael (2011). "1127th independent Radio-Technical Unit". Soviet Armed Forces 1945-1991. Retrieved 2012-04-22.
10. Krebs, Gunther Dirk (2012-03-30). "US-KMO (71Kh6)". Gunther's Space Page. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
11. Pavel, Podvig (2003-11-28). "Problems with Russian military satellites". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
12. Pavel, Podvig (2012-09-02). "Only two satellites left in Russia's early-warning system". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Retrieved 2012-04-19.