ELEKTRO-L

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ELEKTRO-L is classified as:

NORAD ID: 37344

Int'l Code: 2011-001A

Perigee: 35,783.5 km

Apogee: 35,817.8 km

Inclination: 8.3 °

Period: 1,436.4 minutes

Semi major axis: 42171 km

RCS: 0.637 m² (medium)

Launch date: January 20, 2011
Source: Commonwealth of Independent States (former USSR) (CIS)
Launch site: TYURATAM MISSILE AND SPACE COMPLEX (TTMTR)

The Electro-L satellite is Russia's second high-altitude weather observatory, coming after a troubled mission launched in 1994 that never achieved all of its goals The next-generation Electro-L program faced years of delays because of interruptions in funding. The Electro-L spacecraft will function for up to 10 years, collecting weather imagery several times per hour with visible and infrared cameras. The satellite's position in geosynchronous orbit will yield views the entire Earth disk, allowing its weather sensors to observe storm systems across a wide swath of Asia, the Middle East and the Indian Ocean. Electro-L 1 will be parked at 76 degrees east longitude, appearing fixed over a point in the Indian Ocean. The satellite will also study space weather phenomena and provide communications for search-and-rescue services. It carries nearly 1,000 pounds (454 kg) of scientific and communications equipment. The Electro-L project joins an international network of geosynchronous weather satellites, which includes missions led by the United States, Europe, Japan, China and India. Electro-L 1 is also named GOMS No. 2, short for Geostationary Operational Meteorological Satellite.