Soyuz 2.1a • Meridian-M 11

Soyuz 2.1a • Meridian-M 11

A Roscosmos Soyuz rocket will launch the eleventh and last Meridian communications satellite (designated Meridian-M 21L or 14Ф112М №21) for the Russian Ministry of Defense into a highly eccentric Molniya orbit. Meridian-M satellites carry three transponders operating in different frequency bands for a service life of 7 years. The rocket will fly in the Soyuz 2.1a configuration with a Fregat-M upper stage. - The Meridan-M communications satellites are built by ISS Reshetnev on a ~2 tonne pressurized bus structure, possibly based on the Uragan-M bus for the GLONASS constellation. The Meridian series is reported to be the replacement for all the Molniya-1T, the Molniya-3 and Molniya-3K satellite series and possibly also for the communication component of the Parus. Meridian-M is the highly eccentric orbit (HEO) component of the Integrated Satellite Communications System (ISSS), working in conjunction with the geostationary Raduga-1M (Globus-M) satellites.

📍 Pad 43/3 - Plesetsk Cosmodrome https://goo.gl/maps/GX9Jpfr5hGdhG2t8A

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