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A Molniya orbit (Russian: Молния, IPA: [ˈmolnʲɪjə] ⓘ, "Lightning") is a type of satellite orbit designed to provide communications and remote sensing coverage over high latitudes. It is a highly elliptical orbit with an inclination of 63.4 degrees , an argument of perigee of 270 degrees, and an orbital period of approximately half a ...
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 ...
They were also based on the KAUR-2 bus, launching solely from Plesetsk. Earlier models were used for civilian communications in a similar orbit, but different purpose, to the military-only Molniya-1 satellites. From 1980s they were used by the military, and by the 1990s they were operated in the same manner as the Molniya 1 satellites. [17]
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 .
The ground track of a satellite in a Tundra orbit is a closed figure 8 with a smaller loop over either the northern or southern hemisphere. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] This differentiates them from Molniya orbits designed to service high-latitude regions, which have the same inclination but half the period and do not loiter over a single region.
For Earth this means a period of just under 12 hours at an altitude of approximately 20,200 km (12,544.2 miles) if the orbit is circular. [16] Molniya orbit: A semi-synchronous variation of a Tundra orbit. For Earth this means an orbital period of just under 12 hours. Such a satellite spends most of its time over two designated areas of the ...
The US-K and US-KS satellites developed under the Oko program were the first generation of Soviet early warning satellites. 86 US-K satellites were placed in a Molniya orbit between 1972 and 2010 and 7 US-KS satellites, of a very similar design, were placed in geostationary orbit between 1975 and 1997, the system becoming operational in 1980.
Quasi-Zenith satellite orbit QZSS animation, the "Quasi-Zenith/tundra orbit" plot is clearly visible.The Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) (Japanese: 準天頂衛星システム, Hepburn: juntenchō eisei shisutemu), also known as Michibiki (みちびき, "guidance"), is a four-satellite regional satellite navigation system and a satellite-based augmentation system developed by the Japanese ...