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Russian Space Forces
Soyuz 2.1a/Fregat-M | Meridian-M No.18
Recorded mission coverage
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Mission brief
The flight at a glance.
The Meridian series of communications satellites is reported to be the replacement for all the Molniya-1T, the Molniya-3 and Molniya-3K satellite series and possibly also for the communication component of the Parus. They are launched into highly eccentric Molniya-orbits. Meridian is the highly eccentric orbit (HEO) component of the Integrated Satellite Communications System (ISSS), where they work in conjunction with the geostationary Raduga-1M (Globus-M) satellites. The bus structure is reportedly pressurized, possibly based on the Uragan-M bus. Meridian satellites carry three transponders operating in different frequency bands.
Open the full mission →Published flight sequence
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Planned timings relative to the target. These steps do not indicate live progress.
A flight sequence has not been published for this mission.