Luch-5A Relay Satellite Arrives at New Position

News courtesy of CANSPACE Listserv.

The Russian SBAS satellite, Luch-5A, has been repositioned so that its sub-satellite longitude is 95 degrees east. The satellite had been drifting from its original geostationary position at 58.5 degrees east longitude since about May 30.

The orbital slot of 95 degrees east had been previously announced for Luch-5B, so perhaps Luch-5A is switching positions with Luch-5B, which is scheduled for launch on August 30, although a recent Roscosmos presentation indicates the launch might not happen until October.

Luch-5A is the first of a set of three geostationary satellites being launched to reactivate Roscosmos’s Luch Multifunctional Space Relay System. The system will be used to relay communications and telemetry between low-Earth-orbiting spacecraft, such as the the Russian segment of International Space Station, and Russian ground facilities.

The satellites also carry transponders for the System for Differential Correction and Monitoring (SDCM), Russia’s satellite-based augmentation system. The transponders will broadcast GNSS corrections on the standard GPS L1 frequency using C/A PRN codes assigned by DoD’s Global Positioning Systems Directorate. Luch-5A was assigned PRN 125; Luch-5B, PRN 140; and Luch-5V (previously called Luch-4), PRN 141.

Luch-5A was launched on December 11, 2011.