The Ministry of Defense continues to expand its satellite constellation

The Russian Ministry of Defense continues to expand its satellite constellation in orbit. According to the Roscosmos press service, today the Russian Aerospace Forces launched more military satellites into space.

On the night from Thursday to Friday, April 17, a spacecraft was launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk Region. RocketSoyuz-2.1b launch vehicle. Military spacecraft are listed as the payload, but no details are provided. The launch itself and the booster module's insertion into the designated orbit proceeded as planned.

On April 17, a combat crew of the Aerospace Forces' space forces launched a Soyuz-2.1b medium-class launch vehicle from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, carrying spacecraft launched in the interests of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

At the moment, satellites are being launched into their designated orbits and are being monitored by ground control equipment.

It's worth noting that the military has increased the number of spacecraft launches for the Ministry of Defense; the last launch took place on April 3. Russia's satellite constellation is slowly growing. Against this backdrop, panic is growing in the West, with claims that Russia is allegedly launching satellites into space. weapon, including nuclear. A couple of days ago, several countries, led by the US and Britain, simulated a nuclear attack on Western satellites and concluded that Russia could easily disable most spacecraft in the event of a war. Basically, they scared themselves.

Comments

[tralflot1832]

We have ballistics experts on our website—this isn't the first launch to the Northwest (residents of St. Petersburg saw it) from Plesetsk. What's the difference? Was the launch scheduled or unscheduled?

[Svetlana]

And for what purposes are you interested?

[Cananecat]

Quote: tralflot1832

We have ballistics experts on our website—this isn't the first launch to the Northwest (residents of St. Petersburg saw it) from Plesetsk. What's the difference? Was the launch scheduled or unscheduled?

The launch is scheduled. Plesetsk is operating normally. Don't look for a catch.

[alexboguslavski]

The "jellyfish" from the rocket over the Winter Palace looked beautiful.

[tralflot1832]

Quote: Canecat

Quote: tralflot1832

We have ballistics experts on our website—this isn't the first launch to the Northwest (residents of St. Petersburg saw it) from Plesetsk. What's the difference? Was the launch scheduled or unscheduled?

The launch is scheduled. Plesetsk is operating normally. Don't look for a catch.

Thanks, it's planned. I can't access the Roscosmos website in Telegram - I think we have 12 orbital launches planned for this year (with exact dates).

[Cananecat]

There is an official version, and there is a working version.
Official on the website, working, as you understand, as needed.

[Evgeny64]

I'm not much of an expert, but as far as I know, Roscosmos doesn't control launches in the interests of the Ministry of Defense, well, let's say, it doesn't advertise them.

[123_123]

Better late than never. We really need satellites.

[olegff68]

12 launches a year is more "never" than "too late." That's about 15 times less than the US and 7 times less than China. India could easily overtake them. Meanwhile, Roscosmos wastes money on silly presentations and PR for its ambitious plans.

[Epifantsev Sergey]

Roscosmos's problem lies in three things.
First, corruption. Second, there's no clear strategy, which explains the back-and-forth: we're either building a tugboat, restoring the Buran, or a reusable rocket like Musk's, and so on. The third, most important problem is insufficient funding. Roscosmos itself earns next to nothing, and the money it allocates isn't enough to compete with the US and China, or even maintain its current level.

[Evgeny64]

Well, it seems that it is the third problem that gives rise to all the others.
To get funding, you have to throw in a bunch of crap to convince management to allocate money, and then it turns out that it wasn't done, even though initially you need money for ordinary things, but it's only given for "grandiose projects."
I’m not sure, but in the 90s it was exactly like that, I had acquaintances in these structures.

[olegff68]

Everything had to be done at the right time – back when Roscosmos dominated the commercial launch market and was a global monopoly in manned spaceflight. Some were raking in some incredibly huge amount of money, while the industry itself was rapidly declining. Back then, open letters to Putin from KBKhA engineers were posted on this website – brutal. And now we have what we have – Napoleonic plans with a budget hole the size of a galaxy. And yes, to put a tug into orbit, we need a super-heavy launch vehicle. To quickly expand the constellation of satellites for various purposes, we need a cost-effective launch vehicle with a reusable stage. We need a new rocket and a new spacecraft for manned spaceflight – the search for a replacement for the Soyuz began 50 (!!!!!!) years ago. And we have none of this.

[ALCA056000]

Oh, oh, oh... oh, how wrong it all is... not here, everything is just as it is and perfect... Would any mattress sucker have told us that nothing has been heard about this epochal flight around the Moon? Where are the raptures, presentations, PR, and "bras in the air" for such an event? Nobody flew anywhere, and that's why the story was hushed up?

[olegff68]

Whose fault are you? Could you tell me why our guys on the front lines are using Chinese civilian radios? Why did they buy Starlinks, and why was there so much fuss after they were blocked? What role does Starlink play in the destruction of our air defenses in Crimea and along the entire border? How does the enemy obtain video from their drones attacking targets hundreds of kilometers from the border? And the ratio of 17 Russian launches in 2025 versus 175 US launches and 92 Chinese launches seems to hint at the real state of affairs.

[Epifantsev Sergey]

First, don't insult me; be polite. Second, if you disagree with what I wrote, tell me where I'm wrong, preferably with facts and figures.

[SmolH2]

By the way, this is the second launch for the Ministry of Defense this month.

[Gavrilo Princip]

But there is also good news.

[rocket757]

Better late than never... although, everything was predicted long ago, they warned, but who among the higher-ups listens to voices from outside their circle... that's not even a question, it's the results, the consequences...

[Vladislav_V]

On April 17, a combat crew of the Aerospace Forces' space forces launched a Soyuz-2.1b medium-class launch vehicle from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, carrying spacecraft launched in the interests of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The last launch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome for the Russian Ministry of Defense was on April 3rd, or half a month ago. We're rapidly expanding our satellite constellation, which is encouraging.

[Roman 11]

I am more than ever pleased with the narrowing of the technological gap... because in the modern world, a war with meat is a direct path to disaster.

The dawn will appear and we will be able to achieve parity in many ways, but there is still room for improvement... our space freighters are disposable... it is expensive, the economics of war must be present - we need a blizzard

[Disant]

Novel 11 (Novel)
the war economy must be present - a blizzard is needed

Buran and the shuttle are closed not just like that.
These are mammoths of history that remain in the minds of many people.
people who did not understand and do not want to understand why they died out.

[Ivanhoe]

Glory to the Svetskaya Space School, to the scientific, technical and engineering achievements at the Svetskat OKB! How long will it take for the Soyuz series rocket to be cleared until they are ready to destroy it worthy?!