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The orbit's name refers to the "lightning" speed with which the satellite passes through the perigee. [5] The first use of the Molniya orbit was by the communications satellite series of the same name. After two launch failures, and one satellite failure in 1964, the first successful satellite to use this orbit, Molniya 1-1, launched on 23 ...
The satellite's name, "quick as lightning", is in reference to the speed with which it passes through the perigee. [8] Molniya series satellites were replaced (succeeded) by the Meridian series, with the first launch in 2006. [9] As of 2023, there are currently 36 Molniya satellites left in orbit. [10]
The ground track of a Molniya orbit. If the argument of perigee is zero, meaning that perigee and apogee lie in the equatorial plane, then the ground track of the satellite will appear the same above and below the equator (i.e., it will exhibit 180° rotational symmetry about the orbital nodes.) If the argument of perigee is non-zero, however ...
A highly elliptical orbit (HEO) is an elliptic orbit with high eccentricity, usually referring to one around Earth.Examples of inclined HEO orbits include Molniya orbits, named after the Molniya Soviet communication satellites which used them, and Tundra orbits.
Tundra and Molniya orbits are used to provide high-latitude users with higher elevation angles than a geostationary orbit.This is desirable as broadcasting to these latitudes from a geostationary orbit (above the Earth's equator) requires considerable power due to the low elevation angles, and the extra distance and atmospheric attenuation that comes with it.
AMSAT OSCAR 10 (or AO-10) was a star-shaped German AMSAT micro-satellite. It was launched on 16 June 1983 from Guiana Space Centre, Kourou, French Guiana, with an Ariane 1 rocket.
The fifth Meridian spacecraft to be launched, Meridian 5 was to have been deployed into a Molniya orbit with an apogee of 39,000 kilometres (24,000 mi), a perigee of 900 kilometres (560 mi) and 65 degrees of orbital inclination; [1] from which it would have provided communications for the Russian military.
It operated in a Molniya orbit with a perigee of 900 kilometres (560 mi), an apogee of 39,000 kilometres (24,000 mi), and 65° inclination. [2] The satellite entered service on 1 February 2007. By May 2009 it had failed, before the end of its projected lifespan.