LUCH 5B

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LUCH 5B is classified as:

NORAD ID: 38977

Int'l Code: 2012-061A

Perigee: 35,784.3 km

Apogee: 35,803.8 km

Inclination: 4.4 °

Period: 1,436.1 minutes

Semi major axis: 42165 km

RCS: 2.1538 m² (large)

Launch date: November 2, 2012
Source: Commonwealth of Independent States (former USSR) (CIS)
Launch site: TYURATAM MISSILE AND SPACE COMPLEX (TTMTR)

LUCH 5B will relay data, voice and video communications between the ground and the Russian segment of the International Space Station, satellites, and rockets in flight. The new craft is the second in a new generation of Luch data relay satellites. Russia launched the Luch 5A spacecraft in December 2011. The Luch system is Russia's counterpart to NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, a network of spacecraft linking mission controllers with the space station, scientific satellites and rockets. Luch 5B weighed 2,513 pounds (1,140 kg) at launch and will operate for 10 years at 16 degrees west longitude over the Atlantic Ocean. Luch 5A covers the Indian Ocean.

1 38977U 12061A   18229.44163988 -.00000154  00000-0  00000+0 0  9999
2 38977   4.3886  71.7915 0002312 359.6232  37.1168  1.00270700 21492

Source of the keplerian elements: AFSPC