| Manufacturer | TsSKB |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Russia |
| Operator | GRU |
| Applications | Reconnaissance satellite |
| Specifications | |
| Bus | Yantar |
| Equipment | film camera |
| Regime | Low Earth Orbit |
| Production | |
| Status | Retired |
| Launched | 10 |
| Operational | 0 |
| Retired | 10 |
| Maiden launch | 24 September 2004 (Kosmos 2410) |
| Last launch | 5 June 2015 (Kosmos 2505) |
| Last retirement | 17 September 2015 (Kosmos 2505) |
| Related spacecraft | |
| Derived from | Yantar-4K2 |
Yantar-4K2M (Russian: Янтарь meaning amber), also known as Kobalt-M, was a type of Russian reconnaissance satellite and the last operational member of the Yantar series of satellites. In common with most Yantar satellites, the Kobalt-M used film rather than digital cameras. This film could not be sent to Earth as easily as digital data.
The Kobalt-M was an improved version of the Kobalt satellite and the first one was launched as Kosmos 2410 in 2004. It returned three sets of film during its mission. The first two landed in film return canisters (called SpK - Spuskayemaya Kapsula) and a final set of film returned in the satellite's special equipment module.[1][2][3][4] Image resolution is reportedly 30 cm.[4]
Ten satellites of this series were launched, the last one in 2015. No further orders were planned. Further reconnaissance missions were taken over by the Persona-class satellites.[4]
| Satellite | Launch date[4] | Landing date[4] | Mission Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kosmos 2410 | 24 September 2004 | 10 January 2005 | 108 days |
| Kosmos 2420 | 3 May 2006 | 19 July 2006 | 76 days |
| Kosmos 2427 | 7 June 2007 | 23 August 2007 | 76 days |
| Kosmos 2445 | 14 November 2008 | 23 February 2009 | 101 days |
| Kosmos 2450 | 29 April 2009 | 27 July 2009 | 89 days |
| Kosmos 2462 | 10 April 2010 | 21 July 2010 | 102 days |
| Kosmos 2472 | 27 June 2011 | 24 October 2011 | 119 days |
| Kosmos 2480 | 17 May 2012 | 24 September 2012 | 130 days |
| Kosmos 2495 | 6 May 2014 | 2 September 2014 | 119 days |
| Kosmos 2505[5] | 5 June 2015[5] | 17 September 2015 | 104 days |
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Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). | |
