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Molniya (satellite)

 
Molniya (satellite)

 
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Molniya (satellite)
 
 
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Molniya (meaning "lightning") was a military
Military

A military is an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or Threat of force ....
 communications satellite
Communications satellite

A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purposes of telecommunications. Modern communications satellites use a variety of orbits including geostationary orbits, Molniya orbits, other elliptical orbits and low Earth orbits....
 system used by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
. The satellites were placed into highly eccentric
Orbital eccentricity

In astrodynamics, under standard assumptions in astrodynamics, any orbit must be of conic section shape. The eccentricity of this conic section, the orbit's eccentricity, is an important parameter of the orbit that defines its absolute shape....
 elliptical orbits known as Molniya orbit
Molniya orbit

A Molniya orbit is a type of highly elliptical orbit with an inclination of 63.4 Degree s and an orbital period of about 12 hours. Molniya orbits are named after a series of Soviet Union/Russian Molniya communications satellites which have been using this type of orbit since the mid 1960s....
s, characterised by an inclination
Inclination

Inclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or Axis_of_rotation of direction. The axial tilt is expressed as the angle made by the planet's axis and a line drawn through the planet's center perpendicular to the orbital plane....
 of +63.4 degree
Degree (angle)

A degree , usually denoted by ? , is a measurement of plane angle, representing 1/360 of a Turn ; one degree is equivalent to p/180 radians....
s and a period
Orbital period

The orbital Periodicity is the time taken for a given object to make one complete orbit about another object.When mentioned without further qualification in astronomy this refers to the sidereal period of an astronomical object, which is calculated with respect to the stars....
 of around 12 hours. Such orbits allowed them to remain visible to sites in polar regions for extended periods, unlike satellites in geosynchronous orbit
Geosynchronous orbit

A geosynchronous orbit is an orbit around the Earth with an orbital period matching the Earth's sidereal day rotation period. This synchronization means that for an observer at a fixed location on Earth, a satellite in a geosynchronous orbit returns to exactly the same place in the sky at exactly the same time each day....
s.

The Molniya program was authorized by a government decree in late 1960.






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Molniya 1 Satellite
Molniya (meaning "lightning") was a military
Military

A military is an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or Threat of force ....
 communications satellite
Communications satellite

A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purposes of telecommunications. Modern communications satellites use a variety of orbits including geostationary orbits, Molniya orbits, other elliptical orbits and low Earth orbits....
 system used by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
. The satellites were placed into highly eccentric
Orbital eccentricity

In astrodynamics, under standard assumptions in astrodynamics, any orbit must be of conic section shape. The eccentricity of this conic section, the orbit's eccentricity, is an important parameter of the orbit that defines its absolute shape....
 elliptical orbits known as Molniya orbit
Molniya orbit

A Molniya orbit is a type of highly elliptical orbit with an inclination of 63.4 Degree s and an orbital period of about 12 hours. Molniya orbits are named after a series of Soviet Union/Russian Molniya communications satellites which have been using this type of orbit since the mid 1960s....
s, characterised by an inclination
Inclination

Inclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or Axis_of_rotation of direction. The axial tilt is expressed as the angle made by the planet's axis and a line drawn through the planet's center perpendicular to the orbital plane....
 of +63.4 degree
Degree (angle)

A degree , usually denoted by ? , is a measurement of plane angle, representing 1/360 of a Turn ; one degree is equivalent to p/180 radians....
s and a period
Orbital period

The orbital Periodicity is the time taken for a given object to make one complete orbit about another object.When mentioned without further qualification in astronomy this refers to the sidereal period of an astronomical object, which is calculated with respect to the stars....
 of around 12 hours. Such orbits allowed them to remain visible to sites in polar regions for extended periods, unlike satellites in geosynchronous orbit
Geosynchronous orbit

A geosynchronous orbit is an orbit around the Earth with an orbital period matching the Earth's sidereal day rotation period. This synchronization means that for an observer at a fixed location on Earth, a satellite in a geosynchronous orbit returns to exactly the same place in the sky at exactly the same time each day....
s.

The Molniya program was authorized by a government decree in late 1960. After some initial failures in 1964, the first operational satellite, , was successfully launched on August 23, 1965.

Since October 1967, Molniya satellites have been used by Russia to broadcast their national Orbita
Orbita

Orbita is a Soviet-Russian system of broadcasting and delivering TV signals via satellites. It is considered to be first ever national television network of satellite television....
 television network
Television network

A television network is a distribution wiktionary:Network for television content whereby a central operation provides television program for many television stations....
.

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