Moment ( rus, Момент, from la, momentum, meaning in en, short time) is a Russian military

space surveillance Space domain awareness is the study and monitoring of satellites orbiting the earth. It involves the detection, tracking, cataloging and identification of artificial objects, i.e. active/inactive satellites, spent rocket bodies, or fragmentatio ...

complex. It is used to monitor radio emissions from space craft and satellites, a form of electronic intelligence gathering. It is run by the

Russian Aerospace Defence Forces The Russian Aerospace Defence Forces (VVKO) ( rus, Войска воздушно-космической обороны (ВВКО), Voyska vozdushno-kosmicheskoy oborony (VVKO)) was a branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation responsi ...

as part of their

821st Main Space Intelligence Centre The 821st Main Centre for Reconnaissance of Situation in Space ( rus, Главный центр разведки космической обстановки, GTsRKO) is the headquarters of the Russian military's space surveillance network, SKKP. ...

(SKKP) which operates the space surveillance network. It was put into service for experimental combat duty in 2003. Moment originated with the Russian military company

Vympel Directorate "V" of the FSB Special Purpose Center, often referred to as Spetsgruppa "V" Vympel ( pennant in Russian, originated from German , and having the same meaning), but also known as KGB Directorate "V", Vega Group, is an elite Russian ...

. They published a draft design for the system in 1989, along with other space surveillance technologies, including the

Krona space object recognition station Krona space object recognition station ( rus, Радиооптический комплекс распознавания космических объектов «Крона», Radiooptichesky Kompleks raspoznavaniya kosmicheskikh obektov "Krona ...

and the

Laser Optical Locator A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...

. Work on the Moment complex itself started in 1991. Moment's design work was done by

Experimental Design Bureau OKB is a transliteration of the Russian initials of "" – , meaning 'experiment and design bureau'. During the Soviet era, OKBs were closed institutions working on design and prototyping of advanced technology, usually for military applications. ...

MEI ( rus, ОКБ МЭИ) under lead designer K. A. Pobedonostsev. MEI was founded as part of the

Moscow Power Engineering Institute National Research University "Moscow Power Engineering Institute" (MPEI) is a public university based in Moscow, Russia. It offers training in the fields of Power Engineering, Electric Engineering, Radio Engineering, Electronics, Information Tec ...

and undertakes work on antennae, telemetry and other radio and space related technologies. It is part of the JSC

Russian Space Systems Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

. Their work on Moment was done under contract to Vympel. Moment was put into experimental combat duty on 20 March 2003, and as of 2012 has yet to be formally commissioned. It works passively, picking up radio transmissions from spacecraft and satellites which it can use to locate them, and to discern other things about them. MEI have produced similar systems such as the civilian RIDM. Moment has been installed somewhere in the

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast ( rus, Моско́вская о́бласть, r=Moskovskaya oblast', p=mɐˈskofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ), or Podmoskovye ( rus, Подмоско́вье, p=pədmɐˈskovʲjə, literally "under Moscow"), is a federal subject of Rus ...

, and is moveable. It may be co-located with the Centre for Space Monitoring at

Noginsk Noginsk (russian: Ноги́нск) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Noginsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located east of the Moscow Ring Road on the Klyazma River. Population: History Fo ...

-9. It has the

GRAU index The Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (), commonly referred to by its transliterated Russian acronym GRAU (), is a department of the Russian Ministry of Defense. It is subordinate to the ...

14G6 (14Г6)

References

External links

Photograph of Moment from Vympel
{{Soviet Radar Russian Space Forces Military installations of Russia