Soyuz 2.1a | Kosmos 2556 (Bars-M No. 3)
Launch Successful
L - -- : -- : -- : --
Launch Window
May 19, 2022, 7:30 a.m. - May 19, 2022, 10 a.m.
May 19, 2022, 7:30 a.m. - May 19, 2022, 10 a.m.
Bars-M is the second incarnation of the Bars project, which was started in the mid 1990ies to develop a successor for the Komtea class of area surveillance satellites. The original Bars project was halted in the early 2000s. In 2007, TsSKB-Progress was contracted for Bars-M, for which reportedly the Yantar-based service module was replaced by a new developed advanced service module. The Bars-M satellites feature an electro-optical camera system called Karat, which is developed and built by the Leningrad Optical Mechanical Association (LOMO), and a dual laser altimeter instrument to deliver topographic imagery, stereo images, altimeter data and high-resolution images with a ground resolution around 1 meter.
Launch success confirmed
Liftoff
Updated launch date and time per NOTAMs.
The Soyuz 2.1A converted the flight control system from analog to digital, which allowed launch from fixed platforms. It also allowed big fairings and payloads. It is currently used for crewed Soyuz and Progress flights to the ISS.
Progress Rocket Space Centre, formerly known as TsSKB-Progress, is a space science and aerospace research company which is known for manufacturing launch vehicles and satellites. Most notably, Progress Rocket Space Centre is the manufacturer of Soyuz launch vehicles.
INFO WIKI
A classified mapping satellite rode a Soyuz rocket into space Thursday from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, the fifth space mission of the year to deploy a Russian military payload into orbit.
Share-ride of 5 satellites to sun-synchronous orbit: * Taijing-3-05A/B * Tianyi-50 * Tianyan-27 * Jilin-1 HR-03D-55
2.8 tonnes Mass Simulator launched to a 900 km polar orbit on a test flight proving further upgrades to the ZQ-2E, including a longer 1st stage and e…
18 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies with…
Thirteenth batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Offi…
Ninth cargo delivery mission to the Chinese space station.
A batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Ride-share of 45 satellites including: * CAS500-2 (KASA, South Korea) The South Korean CAS500-1 and -2 satellites will image the Earth in pan-chr…
A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Demonstration Flight for Russia's new Soyuz-5 launch vehicle, with a mass simulator on board. The launch was suborbital with the simulator splashing …
Amazon Leo, formerly known as Project Kuiper, is a mega constellation of satellites in Low Earth Orbit that will offer broadband internet access, thi…