LAUNCH CENTER

Success

Thu Mar 23 2023

Russian Space Forces

Bars-M No. 4

Launch Successful

LAUNCH PREVIEW

Launch Time

(6:40 AM UTC)

Launch Window Start

(6:00 AM UTC)

Launch Window End

(8:00 AM UTC)

RECOVERY OVERVIEW

Location

No Recovery Specified

Type

No Recovery Specified

Rocket Details

Name:

Soyuz 2.1a

Description:

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.

MISSION OVERVIEW

Type: Government/Top Secret
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.

COMPLEX OVERVIEW

Location

Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Pad

43/3 (43L)