"Skif-D" close-up in the assembly hall of JSC "Information Satellite Systems" named after Academician M. F. Reshetnev. Source: roscosmos.ru
Better late than never
On October 23, three Gonets-M satellites and the first of its kind Skif-D satellite entered their orbits. Delivery from the Vostochny cosmodrome was carried out by the Soyuz-2.16 launch vehicle and the Fregat upper stage. With a delay of more than four years, Russia has a hope for the appearance of an analogue of the American Starlink. This hope is still timid - only a demonstrator satellite has been put into orbit (hence the index D), and the first working satellites are expected no earlier than the middle of next year.
"Skif-D" appeared in a difficult time. Not only did the engineers have to work in a forced mode and meet the deadline of twelve months, but the sanctions also imposed serious restrictions.
Skif-D and several more Gonets-M vehicles are sent into space from Vostochny. Source: roscosmos.ru
According to Oleg Grafodatsky, Chief Designer of Multi-Satellite Systems JSC "Information Satellite Systems" named after Academician M.F. Now it remains to check the performance of the "Skif" in orbit.
By the way, the satellite operates at heights previously undeveloped by Russia - about 8 thousand km. Spacecraft designer Ivan Zimin comments on the choice of just such a height:
"Skif-D" became the first in the whole history domestic satellite industry by a spacecraft, which was launched into a medium circular orbit at a height of 8 km with a polar inclination of 070°. Its choice is due to the following features.
First, the ability to serve northern latitudes that are inaccessible to traditional satellites in geostationary orbit, including the regions of the Far North, the Arctic, the Northern Sea Route and cross-polar air routes.
Secondly, the need for a small number of satellites for sustainable service of the territory of Russia.
Thirdly, the optimal balance between the height of the orbit, the visibility time of spacecraft for the subscriber and the number of satellites needed to serve Russia.”
First, the ability to serve northern latitudes that are inaccessible to traditional satellites in geostationary orbit, including the regions of the Far North, the Arctic, the Northern Sea Route and cross-polar air routes.
Secondly, the need for a small number of satellites for sustainable service of the territory of Russia.
Thirdly, the optimal balance between the height of the orbit, the visibility time of spacecraft for the subscriber and the number of satellites needed to serve Russia.”
When compared with competitors - first of all, OneWeb and Starlink - this is very high. The brainchild of Elon Musk rotates 300-600 km, and the products of the OneWeb project rotate 1 km. The low orbit of Starlink, on the one hand, avoids delays in signal transmission and does not require particularly powerful transceivers, and, on the other hand, the system needs more satellites. The lower the orbit, the smaller the coverage area of one satellite.
The Russian "Scythians" do not claim to be a global system, they are designed to provide broadband Internet only to the territory of Russia, and therefore are limited to a dozen orbital vehicles. The transmitters are planned to be launched in two queues - six satellites each. The expected service life of each Skif is about twelve years. The logic of the domestic satellite Internet is similar to the American Starlink.
Information hubs operate on Earth, broadcasting and receiving streams from the Scythian group in orbit. The satellites themselves are typical repeaters with data rates up to 300 megabits/sec. At the end of October, the first technology demonstrator was launched into orbit, but the ground user terminals were not shown. There is every reason to believe that these will be powerful antennas with built-in Wi-Fi routers. This will allow organizing communication anywhere in the country through ordinary smartphones.
This is the key advantage of Starlink in Ukraine. Bandera has a lot of American equipment (more than 10-15 thousand copies), which makes it possible to equip even the crews of museum-aged cannons and howitzers, turning them into modern weapon. The link "artillery gun - reconnaissance drone - Starlink terminal" has become one of the deadliest among Bandera. The time has come to do something similar for the Russian army, and the first step has already been taken. Only now the Scythians will no longer work on a special operation - even in a partially operational state, the group of satellites will be released in a couple of years. Unless, of course, the timing shifts strongly to the right.
The All-Encompassing "Sphere"
"Skif-D" is one of the first-born of a large Russian program for the development of low Earth orbits called "Sphere". If Skif products are responsible for the future broadband Internet throughout the country, then the Marathon IoT system is a unique complex integrated into the Internet of things. At 700-800 kilometers above the Earth, hundreds, and later thousands of small-sized satellites will rotate, communication with which can be maintained through handheld devices. This is especially valuable in conditions where there is no GSM coverage in the territory.
A person who is in trouble somewhere in the area of the Northern Sea Route can use a small-sized gadget to send a distress signal. So far, this device bears the name "Life Button" and is an individual analogue of the automobile "ERA-GLONASS". The Life Button will work without a telephone and a bulky power supply system, since the Marathon orbit allows this. We are not talking about high-speed information transfer - the satellite is used as a repeater of simple signals from devices of the Internet of things (Internet of things, IoT) format.
Satellites weighing only 45–50 kg are planned to be produced on a conveyor. According to Yevgeny Nesterov, general director of the lead developer of ISS JSC, one Marathon-class satellite at the plant should be born every other day. Given that the service life of products in orbit does not exceed five years, the conveyor will not stand idle for a long time. If we consider the peaceful mission of this system, then first of all "Marathons" will broadcast information from sea and river vessels, as well as aircraft from the most remote regions of Russia.
In addition, the system will learn to automatically correct the signals of GLONASS geopositioning satellites. "Marathons" will take the place of the lowest orbital systems of the Russian space group, and in the future they will work in conjunction with the "Gonets" system, whose devices rotate at one and a half thousand kilometers. The logic is as follows - the ground device broadcasts a signal to one of the Marathons, which can relay information to a high-ranking Messenger. The latter, through a ground operator, transmits a signal to the subscriber. But "Marathons" can work without intermediaries.
As mentioned above, satellites have a very extensive civil service - from monitoring the sagging and heating of power lines to warning about floods and earthquakes. The cost of the simplest sensors together with a modem does not exceed 400 rubles, and the life of one battery reaches ten years. The average cost of a full-fledged personal communication device is planned to be around one and a half thousand rubles. By the way, they plan to cover the entire globe with Marathons.
"Skif-D" is being prepared for orbit. Source: roscosmos.ru
The All-Seeing Eye, just a few hundred kilometers away, would be an excellent military system. First of all, to create a field of control drones different class. Small heights, as mentioned above, make it possible to avoid large time delays, which is critical for drums. drones.
Let's move on from the individual elements of the "Sphere" to its detailed structure.
For the first time, satellite devices of this system were discussed in 2018. Since then, the concept has been slightly transformed and in its current state is a concept of 137 Marathon satellites, twelve Skif products and four Express-RV satellites. The latter are responsible for "mobile communications for public consumers throughout Russia."
According to Sergei Prokhorov, Director of the Department of Advanced Programs and the Sphere Project of the Roscosmos State Corporation, if the Skifs will broadcast satellite Internet for everyone and for everyone, then the Express - RV - for the high latitudes of Russia and especially for the routes of the Northern sea route. The Sphere also includes 84 Berkut-O surveillance cameras, Berkut-VD high-detail reconnaissance vehicles, and 12 Berkut-X radar observers.
The first component of the system is already in space (we are talking about the Skif-D demonstrator), the next step is the experimental satellites of the Marathon series, which are due to fly next year. "Express - RV" is planned no earlier than 2025. The full operation of all components of the Sphere in orbit is planned by the end of the 2020s. The total amount of project financing will be about 180 billion rubles.
Let's return to the main issue of the material. Will the Russian Skif be able to compete with Starlink?
Despite all the optimism of the article, if it is possible, then not earlier than in five or six years. As mentioned above, the "Sphere" and its components are needed by the Russian army yesterday.