The Space Forces summed up results of the winter training period. They were outlined in the recent report of Space Forces Commander, Colonel General Vladimir Popovkin, at a meeting of the military council of the Space Forces held on the basis of the main center for control over space means and missile and space defense army in the Krasnodar Territory and Karachay-Cherkessia.
Space Forces are one of the most combat capable branches of the Russian army. The capabilities of the Space Forces are still hidden from public. However, the stability of communication in the troops depends on their activities now. Besides, with the assistance of the Space Forces Russia can parry blows of a probable enemy from outer space. Open data voiced at the meeting of the military council manifested some capabilities of the Space Forces.
Alexei Zolotukhin, director of the information service of the Space Forces, reported that participants of the military council said that since December 1 of 2007 when the winter training period began the forces on duty of the missile and space defense formation detected 14 launches of Russian and foreign rockets and ballistic missiles. The means of control over outer space controlled delivery to orbits of 26 Russian and foreign spacecraft. They also issued warnings about ten dangerous approaches of space objects with the International Space Station.
Information about newly launched spacecraft and space objects that ceased ballistic existence was included into the main catalog of space objects on time. At present, the catalog stores information about more than 9,400 space objects of which more than 5,000 are tracked by the space for control over outer space. Ten launches of spacecraft were performed including eight launches in the framework of federal space programs, international cooperation programs and commercial programs and two launches of military and dual-purpose spacecraft. In the winter training period, forces on duty of the main center for control over space means performed about 120,000 seances of satellite control.
According to the Space Forces, work on the creation of objects of infrastructure for future space rocket system Angara continues at Plesetsk cosmodrome (Archangelsk Region). Flight tests of Rokot and Soyuz-2 rockets and future military and dual-purpose spacecraft continue.
The first model of radar station of high ex-works readiness of meter bandwidth Voronezh-M of the early warning system will be put on combat duty in 2008 in Lekhtusi settlement near St. Petersburg. Work continues on creation of radar station of high ex-works readiness of decimeter bandwidth in Armavir. Preparation for putting of radar station Voronezh-DM on pilot combat duty and conduction of preliminary tests planned for December continues now.
The spokesperson for the Space Forces said, “From February 26 of 2009, the radar station in Armavir will substitute Ukrainian radar stations Dnepr located in Sevastopol and Mukachevo.” According to him, pilot operation of the relocated radio electronic control center Moment is conducted and the modernization of radio optical center for identification of space objects Krona in Karachay-Cherkessia is going on actively.
In 2008, the Russian system for control over outer space tracked Russian and foreign objects delivered to orbit. Zolotukhin reported, “In the first half of the year, we controlled the delivery to orbit of space shuttle orbiters Atlantis and Endeavor, as well as Russian manned spaceship Soyuz TMA-12. In February, we performed control over ceasing the ballistic existence of American spacecraft USA-193.” Zolotukhin also said that the integrity of Russian spacecraft Cosmos-2421 was confirmed between March and April. According to unchecked information published by some mass media, the satellite allegedly broke apart in orbit.
