US-KMO (russian: УС-КМО),
[an abbreviation for Upravlyaemy Sputnik - Kontinenty Morya Okeany (russian: Управляемый Спутник - Континенты Моря Океаны) meaning ''Controllable Satellite - Continents, Oceans, Seas''] is a series of Russian, previously
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
, satellites which are used to identify
ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...
launches. They provide early warning of missile attack and give information for the Moscow
A-135 anti-ballistic missile system
The A-135 (renamed to A-235) (NATO: ABM-4 Gorgon) is a Russian anti-ballistic missile system deployed around Moscow to intercept incoming warheads targeting the city or its surrounding areas. The system was designed in the Soviet Union and entered ...
. They were run by the
Russian Space Forces and it was succeeded by the
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 ...
.
These satellites are part of the
Oko
OKO ( rus, ОКО, r=, literally means eye, also an abbreviation for Ob'yedinonnyye Kristallom Osnovaniya ( rus, Oбъединённые Кристаллом Oснования, r=, literally means Foundations Bound by a Crystal)) is a complex o ...
programme and are in
geosynchronous orbit
A geosynchronous orbit (sometimes abbreviated GSO) is an Earth-centered orbit with an orbital period that matches Earth's rotation on its axis, 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds (one sidereal day). The synchronization of rotation and orbital ...
35,750 km above the Earth's equator. This means that they are always in the same place with the same field of view. Western locations give Russia coverage of missile launches in the United States whereas more eastern ones give coverage of China and the Middle East.
They complement ground-based
early warning radar
An early-warning radar is any radar system used primarily for the long-range detection of its targets, i.e., allowing defences to be alerted as ''early'' as possible before the intruder reaches its target, giving the air defences the maximum t ...
s and the
US-K satellites which are in
molniya orbits.
The first prototype satellite was launched on 8 October 1975, atop a
Proton-K/
DM-2 carrier rocket from
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 ...
. The most recent, and last of the series, was launched on 30 March 2012.
As of December 2015, the entire Oko programme is being replaced by the new
EKS system.
Technical information
US-KMO satellites were built by
NPO Lavochkin. They feature a 1-metre diameter
infrared telescope with a 4.5 metre hood which identifies missiles by their exhausts.
They have an operational life of 5 to 7 years, although actual performance has been variable.
The satellites have the
GRAU index 71Kh6.
The Oko western control centre is at
Serpukhov-15,
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 ...
although Podvig notes
that satellites in the 3 easternmost positions would be out of range of this centre, and would be controlled by the eastern control centre at
Pivan-1,
Khabarovsk Krai
Khabarovsk Krai ( rus, Хабаровский край, r=Khabarovsky kray, p=xɐˈbarəfskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia. It is geographically located in the Russian Far East and is a part of the Far Eastern Federal District ...
.
Naming
These satellites have been mistakenly described as ''Prognoz'' (unrelated to the earlier
Prognoz SO-M programme)
as the positions they occupy are reserved with the
ITU under the codename Prognoz.
Satellites
See also
*
US-KS
*
US-K
*
Defense Support Program, a similar United States system
*
EKS, the new system replacing the entire Oko programme.
Notes
References
[
]
{{DEFAULTSORT:US-KMO
Oko
Military satellites
Military satellites of Russia