The Lira system (russian: Лира) is a two-way communication system used between the

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

and Mission Control via the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

n ''Luch'' relay satellite constellation including the four first generation ''Altair'' satellites and the second generation ''Gelios'' satellite. The

Russian Orbital Segment The Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) is the name given to the components of the International Space Station (ISS) constructed in Russia and operated by the Russian Roscosmos. The ROS handles Guidance, Navigation, and Control for the entire Station ...

(ROS) communication Subsystems can receive commands directly from ground stations through the Regul Subsystem and can receive commands from the LUCH satellite through the Lira or the Regul System. The Lira

antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves * Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...

and associated electronics were part of the Zvezda module which was launched in July 2000. Due to issues with the Luch satellite system communications from the Russian Orbital Segment was routed through a mix of direct connection to

ground stations A ground station, Earth station, or Earth terminal is a terrestrial radio station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft (constituting part of the ground segment of the spacecraft system), or reception of radio waves fro ...

via the Regul system and the

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...

Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System The U.S. Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) is a network of American communications satellites (each called a tracking and data relay satellite, TDRS) and ground stations used by NASA for space communications. The system was desig ...

. Additional Luch satellites were launched between 2011 and 2014 but the system was unable to reach full functionality until a spacewalk in February 2018 to replace electronics was completed.

References

Russian components of the International Space Station {{Russia-stub