‘Russia in blind orbit’. How satellites work in war
During the Russian war in Ukraine, the USSR invaded Afghanistan 10 Nearly as many Soviet soldiers were killed during the year-long invasion. Ukraine More than two-thirds of Russia’s main combat units, which have failed to achieve strategic goals such as the capture of the capital Kiev, have been involved in the fighting. A serious operation of these forces and is said to have made communication errors.
Another serious issue on the list of problems is satellites. It is said that their number is small, and the number of high-quality employees is even lower.
RFE / RL’s Open Sources and information collected from experts according toRussia’s tracking and The number of communication satellites is long that, very little. These satellites are also often outdated technology and or depends on imported parts. Under the conditions of sanctions, it is difficult to obtain them.
Ukraine does not have its own satellite fleet. But the United States has given Ukraine only an unprecedented amount of weapons and not only military ammunition, but also transmits an unprecedented amount of intelligence. Here Russia also includes operational information on the movement of forces. However, it is not known whether high-quality images were transmitted from spy satellites. This information provided to Ukraine is not only for US military intelligence, but also private and applies to commercial companies. Russia does not have any of these.
“In principle Russia is already blind in orbit “– working in Brussels, Soviet and Russia an expert in space programs and analyst Bart Hendrix he says.
An influential American named “Union of Concerned Scientists” NGOto your information according toAt the moment in Russia 10Up to 0 military and or have a dual-purpose satellite. 19 of them are long-range satellites. These satellites are equipped with either optical photography or radio signal tracking systems. The remaining satellites serve other purposes.
According to Hendrix according toRussia currently has two optical identification satellites in orbit, called Persona. However, they were released seven or nine years ago and are nearing the end of their useful life. In addition, the maximum pixel density of Persona satellites is said to be 50 centimeters per pixel. For comparison, the density of the best spy satellites in the United States, called Keyhole, is about 5 centimeters per pixel. This resolution makes the letter “V” on Russian military vehicles much clearer than the orbit of the satellite and allows you to see clean. “Maxar” and The maximum pixel density of commercial satellite companies such as Planet is usually 15 centimeters.
“Americans have at least five Keyhole-12 satellites. Italians, French and the Spaniards have their own satellites ”– Hendrix told the radio.
Russian radars behind the clouds according to It also lags behind in the production of remote sensing satellites. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists according toRussia has only one radar satellite at the beginning of the operation. The Condor satellite was launched in 2014 for its fifth anniversary. It may be that, it no longer operates.
Russian space forces launch Cosmos-2553 in February and or another satellite called Neutron. Its purpose and There is little information about the possibilities. But his Moscow It is known that it was installed at the “Mashinostroyeniye” military research institute. This organization is especially known for the production of radar-vision satellites.
If the neutron is a radar satellite, then it is almost 10 is the first such satellite launched in a year “– added Hendrix that, In the field of Russian radar satellites NATOlags far behind.
The world’s most dominant geoposition technology system is the Global Positioning System, known in the United States as GPS. This widely used technology is used everywhere, from navigation systems to smartphones. But Russia has long been part of the US government that, tries to create an alternative to it. This project is called GLONASS. However, 24 satellites are needed for the GLONASS network to become fully functional. Russia has now launched 23 satellites, some of which are nearing the end of their orbit life.
Russia is having difficulty producing new satellites for GLONASS. It is also linked to Western sanctions imposed after Moscow annexed Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014.
Experts say that, Russia imports 90 percent of cosmic radiation-resistant electronics for next-generation GLONASS K-1 satellites. Russia designed local parts to replace them and tried to produce, but failed; The installed satellite was twice as heavy as previous models. In addition, it still needs to be lifted into orbit in this situation.
“Half of GLONASS satellites can fall from orbit at any time. In principle, the failure of the first three or four satellites will have a negative impact on accuracy in certain areas. 18 satellites are needed to ensure normal functioning of the whole territory of Russia “– both Russia and Europe says an expert who has worked in the aerospace industry. According to him according toIf there is no change in this area, the GLONASS system will collapse in the next few years.
Expert on the Russian Armed Forces, Geneva UN Researcher at the Institute for Disarmament Research Pavel Podviq he says that, There are also serious problems with data processing. “It’s one thing to own satellites, it’s another to be able to use them. You also need a system that can transfer information from satellites to the right people. These people must also process the information and deliver it to the target apartment. “The fact that Russia still has satellites does not mean that such a system still exists.”– he said.