Re: 98-009A / Cosmos 2349, Lacrosse 3 R
Phillip Clark (psclark@dircon.co.uk)
Thu, 5 Mar 1998 20:23:54 +0000 (GMT)
On Thu, 5 Mar 1998, Alexander Seidel wrote:
> A few minutes ago, at UTC 18:48, I observed Cosmos 2349 (98-009 A,
> #25167) passing southbound, az 238 deg / alt 64 deg / height 279 km at
> culmination point, as observed from my site, mag +1.5 steady with
> slightly reddish colour, on time to within a few seconds with the latest
> elsets from Alan Pickup (select.tle). What kind of satellite is this
> with an inclination of 70.4 deg? Very probably a military one, but is
> anything more known about this class so far?
Cosmos 2349 is a "fourth generation" topographic/mapping satellite
(western classification) on a 45-days mission: flights started in 1981,
from memory.
The satellite is classified as Yantar-1KFT and Kometa by the Russians
(design bureau and military programme names) and is a stubby cone -
having two solar panels extending - with a descent module that carrys the
imaging sytem and which returns to Earth at the end of the flight.
there is some uncertainly about the shape of the descent module: Aviation
Week a week or two ago suggested that is was a Vostok-type sphere with a
conical in-orbit manoeuvring engine on top (rather like the Resurs-F1
satellites), and a Russian book does indeed show an unidentified satellite
like this (without the solar panels). Other fourth generation Yantar
satellites use a descent module rather reminiscent of the cone-cylinder
of Gemini/Mercury, and it is possible that this is what Kometa satellites
are really like. Maximum diameter ~2.3 metres, length 6.3 metres, mass
~6.5 tonnes.
I do not know whether anyone has done observations of both satellites, but
as well as Cosmos 2349, there is another Yantar satellite in orbit (unless
it has come down in the last day or two): Cosmos 2347 (1997-080A/25088) -
a Yantar-4K class close look satellite. This satellite does have the
cone-cylinder re-entry vehicle and at launch carried two small re-entry
capsules which returned to Earth during the first few weeks of the
mission.
Phillip Clark
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Phillip S Clark 25 Redfern Avenue
Molniya Space Consultancy Whitton
Compiler/Publisher, Worldwide Satellite Launches Middx TW4 5NA
U.K.
Specialist in "space archeology" - the older and more obscure the more
interesting it is !
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