This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this articlebyadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Meridian 4" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Meridian 4 (Russian: Меридиан-4), also known as Meridian No.14L, is a Russian military communications satellite. It was launched atop a Soyuz-2-1a/Fregat rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in May 2011.
| Mission type | Communications |
|---|---|
| Operator | VKS (2011) VKO (2012-) |
| COSPAR ID | 2011-018A  |
| SATCAT no. | 37398 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Meridian |
| Manufacturer | ISS Reshetnev |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 4 May 2011, 17:41:33 (2011-05-04UTC17:41:33Z) UTC[1] |
| Rocket | Soyuz-2-1a/Fregat |
| Launch site | Plesetsk 43/4 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Molniya |
| Perigee altitude | 1,418 kilometres (881 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 38,948 kilometres (24,201 mi) |
| Inclination | 64.39 degrees |
| Period | 717.75 minutes |
| Epoch | 3 July 2014, 23:30:26 UTC[2] |
It is the fourth satellite to be launched as part of the Meridian system to replace the older Molniya series. It was constructed by ISS Reshetnev and is believed to be based on the Uragan-M satellite bus, which has also been used for GLONASS navigation satellites.
Meridian satellites are launched into highly elliptical Molniya orbits to provide communications coverage of the Northern Hemisphere for the Russian military.
 | This article about one or more spacecraft of the Russian Federation is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
