The launch of two Yamal-100 communication satellites from Baikonur not only marks the return of the Proton rocket to service, but also marks the beginning of a whole new era of communications for oil-rich northern and western Siberia.
Using advanced electronics developed in cooperation with Loral, the satellites (developed by RKK Energia) will provide 24-hour telephone and digital data transmission to 300,000 users. The system's capacity is much greater than Russian oil giant Gasprom will ever need, so the company plans to rent extra channels to customers in Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Unlike the communication satellites currently in use, the Yamal has a new orbit-correction engine -- plasma thrusters using xenon gas to maintain its orbital position with much greater accuracy. The plasma engines will be fired every day and a half to keep the orbit constant, permitting better reception by ground stations with smaller antennas. Anatoly Vovk, the leading RKK Energia official responsible for the Yamal project, estimated the cost of each satellite at less then $50 million. Each spacecraft is designed to operate for 10 years.
Both satellites will be delivered to their geostationary orbit by a single Proton booster. The Yamal satellites should eventually wind up over the equator at 49 and 90 degrees eastern latitude, respectively.
Originally, Gaskom wanted to park one of the satellites at 75 degrees east, but that conflicted with the plans of Intersputnik, which claimed the same position for its spacecraft. Tensions grew so high last year that RKK Energia even refused to supply an upper stage for Intersputnik's spacecraft. The issue was eventually brought before State Commission for Radio Frequencies.
According to Sergei Shestakov, deputy to the director general of Gaskom, after the State Commission intervened, the companies found a solution that "satisfied both sides" by finding a new position for the Yamal that would not diminish the planned coverage area.
The modular concept RKK Energia applied to the Yamal design is a first for the country's space program and will allow the same platform to be used for future payloads. RKK Energia hopes to build follow-on Yamal satellites that can be launched individually by smaller Molniya boosters.
According to Energia spokesman Sergei Gromov, current plans for the future federal communication system include four satellites, two of which will be built by RKK Energia and two by NPO-PM of Krasnoyarsk. Gromov also said that the company is considering use of the same platform for a remote-sensing payload.
Yamal satellites are the first communication satellites built by the RKK Energia in almost 30 years. The company, widely-known as the operator of the Mir space station, pioneered the design of satellite communication technology in the USSR in the mid-1960s. However, Energia soon passed the program to NPO-PM so it could concentrate on manned space flight. Economic problems of the post-Soviet era prompted RKK Energia to revisit the satellite communications field, which has become a potential lifesaver for the cash-starved company.
Proton is the most powerful rocket in the current Russian launch-vehicle fleet and the main source of revenue for the Russian space program. Russia is also relying on Proton to launch major components of the International Space Station. On November 12, the rocket is scheduled to lift the long-delayed Zvezda service module for the ISS.
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