Gonets-1 - Credit: ESA. 14,178 bytes. 186 x 242 pixels.

Commercial version of GRU Strela-3 military store-dump satellite. Gonets-D1 was to be deployed in a constellation of 12 satellites (2 planes of 6) between 1996 and 1998. Each satellite had a single simultaneous earth-space and space-earth channel. On-board storage was 12 Mbits of data, with a transmission rate of 2.4 kbit/sec. Two preproduction test spacecraft of slightly different configuration called 'Gonets-D' were flown. The constellation was not completed and further funding for an improved commercial version was not obtained.

Total Mass: 233 kg.

Test flight of new Gonets commercial communication system. Investigation of outer space.

LEO. Carried photo-surveillance system for disaster monitoring; also carried communications package

• 4 - McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Report (Internet Newsletter), Harvard University, Weekly, 1989 to Present. HTML when accessed: ftp://sao-ftp.harvard.edu/pub/jcm/space/news
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