| Operator | RKA (Until 1996) Gonets SatCom (1996-Present) |
|---|---|
| Major contractors | NPO Prikladnoi Mekhaniki ru:НПО ПМ |
| Mission type | Communication |
| Carrier rocket | Tsyklon-3 (D & D1) Kosmos-3M (One D1M) Rokot (D1M) |
| Launch site | Plesetsk Cosmodrome |
| Mission duration | 5 years |
| Homepage | Gonets SatCom (Russian) |
| Mass | 233kg (D1) 280kg (D1M) |
| Power | 40 Watts from solar panels |
| Batteries | Nickel/Hydrogen |
| Orbital elements | |
| Regime | LEO |
| Inclination | 82.6° |
| Apoapsis | 1414 kilometres |
| Periapsis | 1400 kilometres |
| Instruments | |
| Spectral band | UHF[1] NATO B/D-band |
| Data rate | Up to 64kb/s |
Gonets (Russian Гонец, Messenger) is a Russian civilian low Earth orbit communication satellite system. It consists of a number of satellites, derived from Strela military communication satellites. The first two satellites, which were used to test and validate the system, were launched by a Tsyklon-3 carrier rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on 13 July 1992,[2] and were designated Gonets-D.[3] The first operational satellites, designated Gonets-D1, were launched on 19 February 1996.[3] After launch, the first three satellites were given military Kosmos designations, a practice which was not continued with the other satellites.[2]
Ten operational satellites and two demonstration spacecraft have been placed in orbit. A further three were lost in a launch failure on 27 December 2000. A new series of modernised Gonets satellites, Gonets-D1M, will supplement and eventually replace the satellites which are currently in orbit. A single first D1M satellite was launched by a Kosmos-3M rocket on 21 December 2005.[4] A second D1M satellite was launched by a Rokot carrier rocket on 8 September 2010.[4]
Gonets was originally a Russian Federal Space Agency programme, however in 1996 it was privatised, and it is now organised by Gonets SatCom.[5]