Tselina () is a Russian military space-based radio

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as c ...

system, originally developed in the former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. It is capable of determining the exact location of radio-emitting objects and also their type, modes of operation, and how active they are. For instance, preparation for a military operation may raise the activity of the radio communications. Detection of these communications by a space-based surveillance system can provide early warning of this activity, warning that may be unavailable by other means.

Variants

Initially divided into "overview" (Tselina-O) and "detailed" (Tselina-D), since about 1980 the system has been integrated into a single satellite, Tselina-P, which is also known as Tselina-2. The system's primary subject is enemy radar equipment. Tselina has been numbered as part of the Kosmos series. In total 130 Tselina satellites have been launched. * Tselina-O satellites were launched using

Kosmos-3M The Kosmos-3M (russian: Космос-3М meaning "''Cosmos''", GRAU index 11K65M) was a Russian space launch vehicle, member of the Kosmos rocket family. It was a liquid-fueled two-stage launch vehicle, first launched in 1967 and with over 42 ...

rockets. * Tselina-D used the

Vostok-2M The Vostok-2M (russian: Восток meaning ''"East"''), GRAU index 8A92M was an expendable carrier rocket used by the Soviet Union between 1964 and 1991. Ninety-three were launched, of which one failed. Another was destroyed before launch. It ...

and later the

Tsyklon-3 The Tsyklon-3, also known as Tsiklon-3 and Cyclone-3 (known as SL-14 by the United States DoD), GRAU index 11K68, was a Soviet, and subsequently Ukrainian orbital carrier rocket. Tsyklon 3 rocket body debris accounts for more than 500 pieces o ...

. * Four upgraded Tselina-Ds, named Tselina-R, were also launched using the Tsyklon. * Tselina-2 satellites were designed for launch on

Zenit-2 The Zenit-2 is a Ukrainian, previously Soviet, expendable carrier rocket. First flown in 1985, it has been launched 37 times, with 6 failures. It is a member of the Zenit family of rockets and was designed by the Yuzhmash. History With 13–15 ...

launch vehicles, however the first two launches used the larger

Proton-K The Proton-K, also designated Proton 8K82K after its GRAU index or SL-12 after its model number, 8K82K, was a Russian, previously Soviet, carrier rocket derived from the earlier Proton. It was built by Khrunichev, and launched from sites 81 an ...

/ DM-2 as the Zenit was still undergoing development. The most recent launch used the modernised

Zenit-2M The Zenit-2M, Zenit-2SB, Zenit-2SLB or Zenit-2FG was a Ukrainian expendable carrier rocket derived from the Zenit-3SL. It was a member of the Zenit family of rockets, which were designed by the Yuzhmash. Development The Zenit 2M was a modernis ...

launch vehicle.

References

{{Tselina Reconnaissance satellites of the Soviet Union Reconnaissance satellites of Russia Signals intelligence satellites Military equipment introduced in the 1970s