Krona space object recognition station () is a Russian military complex which is used to identify objects (artificial satellites) in outer space using telescopes and radar.
Space surveillance base
It is part of the
Centre for Outer Space Monitoring of the
Russian Space Forces. The first Krona is near the village of
Zelenchukskaya in
Karachay-Cherkessia
Karachay-Cherkessia (), officially the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus. It is administratively part of the North Caucasian Federal District. As of the 2021 census, Karachay-Cherkessia has a popul ...
, North Caucasus. There is another under construction in the
Russian Far East
The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...
called
Krona-N, near
Nakhodka in
Primorsky Krai
Primorsky Krai, informally known as Primorye, is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krais of Russia, krai) of Russia, part of the Far Eastern Federal District in the Russian Far East. The types of inhabited localities in Russia, ...
.
In 2007, the then commander of the
Russian Space Forces Vladimir Popovkin said that the Nakhodka Krona would start in 2008, however there were no subsequent announcements.
The Caucasian Krona consists of two complexes - an optical one located on Chapal mountain () above 2,000 metres and a radar installation 30 km away at a height of 1,300 metres ().
One site for the Nakhodka Krona is ,
and this site does not have an optical component.
History
Krona was planned in the 1970s and onsite construction started in 1984. Testing started in 1994 and the site was operational in 1999.
A laser optical locator (
lidar
Lidar (, also LIDAR, an acronym of "light detection and ranging" or "laser imaging, detection, and ranging") is a method for determining ranging, ranges by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected li ...
) was added in 2005.
The original plan was for three sites - Zelenchukskaya, Nakhodka and another in the
Pamir Mountains
The Pamir Mountains are a Mountain range, range of mountains between Central Asia and South Asia. They are located at a junction with other notable mountains, namely the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun Mountains, Kunlun, Hindu Kush and the Himalaya ...
, the area
Okno was built. The name ''krona'' (meaning 'crown') came from the appearance of the UHF band antenna which looked like a tree (''krona dereva'').
Facilities
The Caucasian Krona radar works in both the centimeter and decimeter bands. The
UHF
Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter ...
antenna is 20m x 20m and the
SHF one consists of 5 rotating parabolic antennas which uses
interferometry
Interferometry is a technique which uses the ''interference (wave propagation), interference'' of Superposition principle, superimposed waves to extract information. Interferometry typically uses electromagnetic waves and is an important inves ...
.
According to a 2007 television programme the UHF radar first discovers an object and discerns its orbit and characteristics. Then further detail and precise coordinates are discovered using the SHF radar. The lidar then targets the object and reflected light is picked up by the telescope.
References
[
]
External links
Photograph of antenna from Vympel
{{Soviet Radar
Russian Space Forces
Military installations of Russia