Kedr (russian: кедр meaning '' Siberian pine''; Yuri Gagarin's callsign during the Vostok 1 mission), also known as ARISSat 1 and RadioSkaf-2 (formerly known as SuitSat 2), was an

amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communic ...

minisatellite operated by RKK Energia as part of the

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS), operating in the Amateur-satellite service, is a project sponsored by various entities and carried out by astronauts and cosmonauts on the International Space Station who also have an a ...

and

RadioSkaf SuitSat (also known as SuitSat-1, Mr. Smith, Ivan Ivanovich, RadioSkaf, Radio Sputnik, and AMSAT-OSCAR 54) was a retired Russian Orlan space suit with a radio transmitter mounted on its helmet, used as a hand-launched satellite. First devised ...

programmes. A follow-up to the SuitSat spacecraft, Kedr was launched to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Vostok 1 mission. Kedr transmitted 25 greetings in 15 different languages. It also transmitted photos of the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

telemetry Telemetry is the in situ data collection, collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic data transmission, transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Gr ...

and scientific data, voice, telemetry and slow-scan television data on a frequency of 145.950 MHz. The satellite was also intended for use in educational programmes. Kedr was a satellite measuring by by . It carried

solar cell A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical and chemical phenomenon.

s to generate power, and was expected to operate for six months. For launch, Kedr was stored aboard the

Progress M-09M Progress M-09M (russian: link=no, Прогресс М-09М, italic=yes), identified by NASA as Progress 41P, is a Progress spacecraft which was launched in 2011 to resupply the International Space Station. It was the ninth Progress-M Progres ...

spacecraft, which was launched to resupply the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...

. Progress M-09M was launched atop a Soyuz-U carrier rocket flying from Site 1/5 at the

Baikonur Cosmodrome The Baikonur Cosmodrome ( kk, Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы, translit=Baiqoñyr ğaryş ailağy, ; russian: Космодром Байконур, translit=Kosmodrom Baykonur, ) is a spaceport in an area of southern Kazakhstan leased to R ...

at 01:31:39 UTC on 28 January 2011. It docked with the International Space Station at 02:39 UTC on 30 January. Kedr was deployed from the ISS by Sergey Volkov during an

extra-vehicular activity Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environmental support. EVA inc ...

on 3 August 2011 and re-entered Earth's atmosphere on 4 January 2012, having spent 154 days in orbit. "KEDR" was also used as the suffix for several Russian amateur radio

Call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

s (for example, RS0KEDR) that were active in 2014 around the 80th anniversary of Gagarin's birth.

References

External links

Spacecraft launched in 2011 Satellites orbiting Earth Spacecraft which reentered in 2012 Amateur radio satellites Satellites deployed from the International Space Station {{Russia-spacecraft-stub