38977 - LUCH 5B

LUCH-5A and LUCH 5B are follow-on Russian relay satellites, which replace the Luch and Luch-2 satellites. The smaller satellites are based on the Ekspress-1000 bus and were launched with a co-passenger on Proton-M Briz-M boosters.

S- and Ku-band data relay channels of each satellite are linked with receive/transmit points via satellite communications links.

Each data relay satellite is capable of orienting its high-precision antennas towards low-flying space objects so as to "catch" and "track" them along their trajectories. Moreover, each of the two user antennas is capable of tracking its "own" low-flying space object. One antenna operates in the Ku-band, the other in the S-band, with the Ku-band channel capacity at 150 Mbit/s and the S-band channel capacity at up to 5 Mbit/s.

Additionally, the Luch-5B spacecraft carries a laser-communication device.

Facts in Brief

Launch Date: 2012-11-02
Launch Vehicle: Proton-M
Launch Site: Tyuratam (Baikonur Cosmodrome), Kazakhstan