Russian Amateur Satellites

The Russian Amateur radio RS birds. GM1SXX & LA2QAA

Russia kicked off its amateur satellite program in 1978 with the launch of RS1 & RS2 These were launched together on 26th October 1978 on a C1 launcher from the Northern Cosmodrome (Plesetsk), alongside Cosmos 1045. Published mass 40 kg each. Orbit 689 x 1709 km. Inclination 82.55 degrees. The satellites were 390 x 420 mm in diameter. Inverted Vee VHF antenna and a quarter wave whip HF antenna were employed. RS-1 and RS-2 both contained sensitive Mode A (145 MHz uplink and 29 MHz downlink) linear transponders telemetry beacon and Codestore unit . Transponders aboard RS-1 and RS-2 could be kept operating for only a few months before battery problems disabled both spacecraft. The high orbit would have exposed the onboard systems to large doses of radiation as they traversed the Van Allen Radiation belts. Not a great deal appears to have been published about the technicalities of RS1&2 although images on various postage stamps and other items depict them as cylindrical objects with one conical end and two antenna elements protruding from arms mounted on the body. The stylised image here is the clearest we have been able to find to date. It's believed to have been copied from a postage stamp. Because Russian amateurs were limited to 5W of power on the 2M band, the transponders had exceptionally sensitive receivers to compensate. If badly overloaded by users, the transponder would trip out and stay off until re-set by the Moscow ground-station. Thanks to the usual 'alligators' running excessive power, this happened all to frequently. Later, additional command stations were set up to help combat this problem but RS1&2 were constantly plagued by bad operating practices. RS1&2 only operated for a few months before the batteries failed. RS1 would occasionally come back to life in the same way as Oscar7 has, transmitting on the 29.401Mhz beacon sending 5015 or 5501 as late as 1988.

Radio Sputniks 3-8 were the next birds to be launched, in 1981, on the 17th of December . They created a big stir at the time. Yet again they were placed into a high circular orbit of around 1700Kms from from Plesetsk near Archangel in Russia. RS3&4 only carried amateur downlink beacons and could have been genuine military Strelas carrying an additional amateur payload. RS3 had beacons on 29.321 & 29.401Mhz while RS4 sported beacons on 29.360 & 29.403Mhz

RS-5,6,7 & 8 All used the 'small Strela' Strela1-m, (Arrow) bus... carrying amateur electronics onboard essentially military spaceframes. Like RS1&2 the RS 'constellation' of birds had very good receivers on board so were quite easy to use. You may wonder why such a high orbit was chosen. We believe the answer lies in the use of Plesetsk Cosmodrome as the launch site, and the model of launcher used, being primarily in support of the Strela program. RS7 of this cluster of satellites, carried 'ROBOT', an electronic store/dump system to collect robotically stored QSO's and relay them to the ground-station in the USSR. (PO Box 88, Moscow). Yet again, the high near-Polar orbits exposed these birds to very considerable radiation dose. RS5&7 were the longest lived of this group, failing after almost seven years of service. RS7 in particular provided excellent service.

Strela1-m satellite

RS3-8 frequencies

RS5 145.93-29.43Mhz Mode A (40Khz wide) and beacons on 29.331 & 29.452Mhz

RS6 145.93-29.43Mhz Mode A (40Khz wide) and beacons on 29.411 & 29.453Mhz

RS7 145.98-29.48Mhz Mode A (40 Khz wide) and beacons on 29.341 & 20.501Mhz

RS8 145.98-29.48Mhz (Mode A (40Khz wide) and beacons on 29.461 & 29.502Mhz

Transponder power output on the downlink was 1.5W

Radio Sputnik-9? There was no RS-9. RS-9 was one that never was. Perhaps it was cancelled.

About Strela
Although a military, and not an amateur satellite system, the Strela program is worthy of note because of the important part it played in Russian Amateur Radio satellites. Strela was a Russian Store/Dump battlefield communications system that initially at least, employed 'octets' of small satellites in three orbit planes. The 'small Strela' satellite spaceframe would have made a good platform for amateur craft with their fairly low power transponders. It's even possible that a genuine Strela1-m store/dump system was used as the 'ROBOT ' on RS-7. In all, the Russian military used three 'generations' of Strela craft, each generation being heavier and more capable than the last. They were designated Strela1-m, Strela2, Strela3. Each was of greater mass than its predecessor. The 'small Strela (1-m) ' was the first design to be used. Small Strelas were launched from Plesetsk in groups of eight (octets) which when released from the carrier rocket, would spread out in their orbit plane due to small variations in drag. Three such planes disposed at 120 degrees apart made sure there was always a Strela nearby to use in the battlefield. Strela was a store/dump system, for relaying battlefield communications. While RS3&4 were most likely replacement military Strelas for ones that had failed in orbit, the amateur craft RS5 through 8 were built around surplus Strela-1M. spaceframes carrying amateur radio transponders, plus ROBOT in the case of RS7. This would fully explain the type orbit chosen for RS5-8. The Kosmos 3M was the launch vehicle, for the Strela system with eight Strela1-m satellites launched at a time. The eight satellites would be in similar 1500 km altitude orbits Strela was made operational by the Soviet military in 1972. Later Strelas were heavier and more capable and a great number of satellites, certainly measured in the hundreds, were launched under the Strela banner. The Strela3 also appears in a civilian guise as Gonets. Strela3 is a large spacecraft, not to be confused with the much smaller Strela1-m satellite bus on which so many of the Russian Amateur Radio satellites are based. Should you be interested, you can read about Gonets at GONETS_D1 Gonets_D1 weighs in at a substantial 225Kgs compared to the lightweight 74-80Kgs of the Strela1-m.

ISKRA (Spark) were the next Russian birds to be launched. They were tiny short lived craft.

ISKRA-1 was ejected from Soviet Vostok A-1 rocket carrying the Meteor 1-31 weather satellite.

ISKRA-2 was launched 9th July 1982 by 'hand launch' from the then new Salyut 7 space station. It was carried into space aboard the station. Cosmonauts Anatoli Berezovoi and Valentin Lebedev unwrapped Iskra-2 and pushed it out an airlock at an altitude of 210 miles.

ISKRA-3 followed suit on 18th November 1982. Berezovoi and Lebedev hand launched another small satellite, Iskra-3, from the space station airlock at an altitude of 220 miles.

Next to come was RS10/11.

RS10/11 was arguably the most popular amateur radio satellite of all time. My first satellite QSO was made using this bird. LA2QAA agrees with me that RS10/11 was the best amateur satellite ever... bar none. It was easy to use, had a powerful downlink and a good footprint. It was very popular with users.

RS10/11 was launched on 23rd June 1987 into a 996Kms high near polar orbit. RS10/11 was not a pair of satellites, but instead a pair of transponder units and aerials, mounted aboard a Soviet Experimental 'TSIKADA' (Cicada) NAVSAT Cosmos 1861, and 'stealing' power from the main satellite bus. RS10/11 benefited hugely from having plenty of power available for a strong downlink and also had excellent receivers.

RS10/11 carried on the tradition of ROBOT.
RS-10 could sometimes be heard transmitting: "CQ CQ DE RS10 QSU 145820 KHZ AR"
The ROBOT would listen for a call on 145.820MHZ. Sending "RS10 DE GM1SXX AR" would log the call in the ROBOT for later downlink to the command station. ROBOT's uplink passband was fairly wide so great frequency accuracy was not required
If the ROBOT found copy difficult, it would respond with "QRM", "QRZ", or "RPT".
A successful contact would be rewarded by "GM1SXX DE RS10 QSO NR 123 0P ROBOT TU USW QSO NR 123 73 SK"
ROBOT 'preferred' fast CW and would reply at the same speed.

RS10 carried the following....
Analogue Transponders:
Uplink                                        Downlink
Mode-K 21.160- 21.200MHZ      29.360MHZ- 29.400MHZ
Mode-T 21.160- 21.20OMHZ     145.860MHZ-145.900MHZ
Mode-A 145.860-145.900MHZ   29.360MHZ- 29.400MHZ

Mode-KT 21MHZ uplink and 29 plus 145MHZ downlinks
Mode-KA 21MHZ plus 145MHZ uplinks into a single 29MHZ downlink

The beacons were on 29.357MHZ,29.403MHZ,145.857MHZ & 145.903MHZ
Robot used Uplinks on 21.120MHZ and 145.820MHZ

RS11
Analogue Transponders:
Uplink                                       Downlink
Mode-K 21.210-21.250MHZ      29.410MHZ- 29.450MHZ
Mode-T 21.210-21.250MHZ      145.910MHZ-145.950MHZ
Mode-A 145.910-145.950MHZ 29.410MHZ- 29.450MHZ

Mode-KT 21MHZ uplink into 29 and 145MHZ downlinks
Mode-KA 21MHZ and 145MHZ uplinks into a single 29MHZ downlink

Beacons: 29.407MHZ, 29.453MHZ, 145.907MHZ, 145.830MHZ
Robot used uplinks on 21.130MHZ & 145.830MHZ
Transponder downlink power was 5W.

RS12/13 were the next Russian 'packages' to be launched. Like RS10/11, this was a parasite package of twin transponders flown aboard Cosmos 2123, a Russian NAVSAT. It was launched on the 5th February 1991 into a 1000Kms near polar orbit.

RS12
Analogue Transponders:
Uplink                                      Downlink
Mode-K 21.210-21.250MHZ     29.410MHZ- 29.450MHZ
Mode-T 21.210-21.250MHZ      145.910MHZ-145.950MHZ
Mode-A 145.910-145.950Mhz   29.410MHZ- 29.450MHZ

Mode-KT 21MHZ uplink into 29 and 145MHZ downlinks
Mode-KA 21MHZ and 145MHZ uplinks into a common 29MHZ downlink
Beacons were on 29.408MHZ,29.454MHz, 145.912MHZ & 145.958MHZ
ROBOT used uplinks on 21.130MHZ & 145.830MHZ

RS-13
Analogue Transponders:
Uplink                                         Downlink
Mode K: 21.260- 21.300MHZ      29.460MHZ- 29.500MHZ
Mode T: 21.260- 21.300MHZ       145.960MHZ-145.000MHZ
Mode A: 145.960-146.000MHZ    29.460MHZ- 29.500MHZ

Mode-KT: 21MHZ uplink into 29 and 145MHZ downlinks
Mode-KA: 21MHZ and 145MHZ uplinks into a common 29MHZ downlink
Beacons were on 29.458MHz,29.504MHz,145.862MHz & 145.908MHz
The ROBOT uplinks were on 21.138MHz & 145.843MHz

Note: Although 'official' AMSAT NA documentation for the Russian birds depicts a generic cylindrical drum-like craft with an antenna boom at one end as shown here in full, in fact only two of the many craft launched took this physical form. The image on the AMSAT-NA website is of a typical Tsikada craft. These were a Russian version of GPS

The photo shown on the AMSAT-NA pages is typical of the physical design of RS10/11 and RS12/13. BUT...Don't be fooled. All of the others looked NOTHING like this.

Tsikada craft.

RS-14 A.K.A. AO-21 was launched on January 29, 1991,and was a joint venture between AMSAT-U Orbita and AMSAT-DL. The equipment was attached as a package to INFORMATOR-1, an experimental commercial geology satellite. This German/Russian partnership led to a dual name for this bird... AMSAT-OSCAR-21 (AO-21) and / or Radio sputnik14 RS-14. The 'mothership' was deactivated on 16th September 1994 leading to the untimely death of RS14. RS-14 was a very popular bird, easy to operate and often was used to send send digitally recorded voice messages commemorating important events. Among the transmissions GM1SXX monitored was a recording of the first moon landings. RS14 was a 'sophisticated bird' with plenty of 'onboard intelligence'. In appearance, it consisted of a two- layer 'equipment tray' with various connector mounted around the edges.

The satellite / package handled four different receive channels within 70 cm and the onboard computer could handle BPSK, AFSK, FSK, RSM & FM. Eight different modes allowed the transmission of...

1200 bps, BPSK, NRZI (Fuji mode)

400 bps, BPSK, Biphase s, (Phase-3 mode)

2400 bps, BPSK, Biphase s, (Rudak-1 mode)

4800 bps, RSM, NRZIC

9600 bpses, RSM, NRZI + Scrambler

FSK for RTTY, SSTV, FAX transmissions

FM-modulated through a DSO RISC Processor

It was a huge disappointment when this satellite was switched off.

Next came RS-15.

Radio SPUTNIK 15 Launched 26th December 1994 from Baikonur Cosmodrome on ROCKOT, a modified SS-19 ICBM, was a SMALL Strela. It was launched into a high Polar LEO of 2000Kms altitude at 64.6 degrees inclination on a modified SS19 ICBM . It weighed a reported 70Kgs, entirely consistent with the Small Strela bus. It was a MODE-A bird Uplink: 145.858 - 145.898MHZ Mode A Downlink: 29.354 - 29.394MHZ with a pair of beacons on 29.3525MHz & 29.3987MHz

The following report, posted in 1994 by Leo Maksakov is of particular interest. from a historical perspective...

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RS-15 Launch Report from Leo Maksakov dated 27 December 1994:
Moscow. Official report.
December 26, 1994 at 03:00 utc was launched Radio Amateurs satellite RS-15 from Baykonur space center. RS-15 launched by vehicle "Rokot". "Rokot" is made on base of rocketry boosters (1st and 2nd stages) of missile well known as SS-19 and new booster "Briz" (3th stage).

Satellite is spherical like unit about 1 meter diameter and his weight is approximately 70 kg. (used the same trunk as on RS-3 - RS-8).

On the board exist transponder, two radiobeacons, CW - broadcast bulletin board (2kb), remote control system and telemetry system. The satellite have not orientation and stabilization systems.

All electronics onboard equipment was designed and realized by group of radio amateurs from Kaluga town (180 km s-w from Moscow) under leaderships of Aleksander Papkov. Common coordinations and supervisions to carry out by public organization NILAKT POSTO (aero-cosmic laboratory), Moscow, director Valentin Yamnikov. Full controls of RS-15 as RS-10/11 and RS-12/13 implemented by RS3A controls station at Moscow (head Leonid Maksakov). Sponsor of ground control station is "Unicom", Russia and "UTC", RI, USA.

RS-15 transponder bandplan and data:

Uplink: 145.858 - 145.898 MHz (from Earth to Sat.) - aprox. 100 Watts IERP
Downlink: 29.354 - 29.394 MHz (from Sat. to Earth) - up to 5 Watts
Beacon 1: 29.352.5 MHz - 0.4/1.2 Watts
Beacon 2: 29.398.7 MHz - 0.4/1.2 WattsRS-15 Orbital data:

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The reason for our particular interest in this old news item is down to the sentence shown in Blue. It confirms that indeed, as we have believed for some time, that the RS3-8 satellites were small Strela types. We don't believe that this has been confirmed in print outside of Leo Maksakov's article.

RS-16, was launched from the then new Svobodny Cosmodrome around the 4th March 1997 and was certainly a SMALL Strela type. RS-16 was injected into a low 276 mile high orbit and so had a relatively small 2000 mile wide footprint, much smaller than previous Russian birds with the exception of the ISKRA's. Uplink was on 145.915-145.948MHZ and downlink on 29.415 - 29.448MHz. Beacons were on 29.408, 29.451, 435.504 & 435.548MHz.

Two hand launched birds were next, picosatellites, hand-launched from the MIR space station during space-walks.

Radio-Sputnik 17 Hand-launched from MIR on the 4th November 1997 RS17 , AKA Spoutnik, was a sub-scale Russo/French replica of Sputnik, a working replica of the original Sputnik 1 that started the space race on 4th October 1957. RS17 was hand-launched by the cosmonauts aboard MIR during a planned space walk. The new satellite had a similar tone controlled beacon to the original Sputnik and survived until 29th December, 1997, thus faring rather better than the original Sputnik in terms of lifespan.

Spoutnik 40 years.. Photograph taken at University of Surrey by GM1SXX

Radio-Sputnik18 was yet another hand-launched mini-sputnik replica.. Hand launched from MIR on 10th November 1998, it was very similar to RS17... AKA Sputnik 40. It too carried a beacon, on 145.8125Mhz and transmitted voice recordings in addition to it's 'beep-beep' beacon. RS-18 was a one-third scale replica of Sputnik 1. It was ferried up to Mir by a Progress cargo freighter and hand launched from the space station on November 10, 1998, at an altitude of approximately 200 miles.

RS19 was another miniature satellite. It was never activated. Built as an advertising gimmick for SWATCH watch company, it was hand launched in a switched off state from MIR. .RS-19 was 'launched' by French astronaut Jean-Pierre Haigneré during a spacewalk on April 16, 1999

RS20/Mozhaets.

Another Strela 1M. RS20/Mozhaets was a NAVSAT/Scientific satellite, originaly constructed as a Strela 1-m satellite. It has a somewhat unusual history, having been a museum exhibit at the Mozhaisky military academy. Students of the academy rebuilt it with new 'innards' and it carried an Amateur Radio telemetry beacon (RS-20).which transmitted CW Telemetry on 145.818 & 435.319MHz.

RS20/Mozhaets...Yet Another Strela

2002 Mar 20 Kolibri 2000/Radiosputnik 21

Kolibri 2000/RS21 was a Russo-Australian educational satellite ejected from a Progress cargo-supply rocket on the 20th March 2002. At such a low altitude, it's life was short and it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere after 711 orbits of the Earth. It sent Telemetry and digitally recorded voice messages during it's short life.