US-KMO
Series of Russian missile warning satellites, 1991-2012
title: "US-KMO" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["oko", "military-satellites", "military-satellites-of-russia"] description: "Series of Russian missile warning satellites, 1991-2012" topic_path: "history/military" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US-KMO" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Series of Russian missile warning satellites, 1991-2012 ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox spacecraft class"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | US-KMO |
| manufacturer | NPO Lavochkin |
| country |
| | bus | GRAU: 71Kh6 | | applications | Early warning/Missile defence | | orbits | Geosynchronous | | operator | VKS (1991–2011) VKO (2011—) | | lifetime | 5-7 years | | derivedfrom | US-KS | | status | Out of production | | launched | 8 | | operational | 1 | | retired | 4 | | failed | 3 | | lost | 0 | | first | Kosmos 2133 14 February 1991 | | last | Kosmos 2479 30 March 2012 | | mass | 2600 | ::
| name = US-KMO | manufacturer = NPO Lavochkin | country =
| bus = GRAU: 71Kh6 | applications = Early warning/Missile defence | orbits = Geosynchronous | operator = VKS (1991–2011) VKO (2011—) | lifetime = 5-7 years | derivedfrom = US-KS | status = Out of production | launched = 8 | operational = 1 | retired = 4 | failed = 3 | lost = 0 | first = Kosmos 2133 14 February 1991 | last = Kosmos 2479 30 March 2012 | mass = 2600 US-KMO (),an abbreviation for Upravlyaemy Sputnik - Kontinenty Morya Okeany () meaning Controllable Satellite - Continents, Oceans, Seas is a series of Russian, previously Soviet, satellites which are used to identify ballistic missile launches. They provide early warning of missile attack and give information for the Moscow A-135 anti-ballistic missile system. They were run by the Russian Space Forces and it was succeeded by the Aerospace Defence Forces.
These satellites are part of the Oko programme and are in geosynchronous orbit 35,750 km above the Earth's equator. This means that they are always in the same place with the same field of view. Western locations give Russia coverage of missile launches in the United States whereas more eastern ones give coverage of China and the Middle East. They complement ground-based early warning radars and the US-K satellites which are in molniya orbits.
The first prototype satellite was launched on 8 October 1975, atop a Proton-K/DM-2 carrier rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome. The most recent, and last of the series, was launched on 30 March 2012. As of December 2015, the entire Oko programme is being replaced by the new EKS system.
Technical information
US-KMO satellites were built by NPO Lavochkin. They feature a 1-metre diameter infrared telescope with a 4.5 metre hood which identifies missiles by their exhausts. They have an operational life of 5 to 7 years, although actual performance has been variable.
The satellites have the GRAU index 71Kh6.
The Oko western control centre is at Serpukhov-15, Moscow Oblast although Podvig notes that satellites in the 3 easternmost positions would be out of range of this centre, and would be controlled by the eastern control centre at Pivan-1, Khabarovsk Krai.
Naming
| Earth | caption = Location of the seven satellite positions above the equator | alt = Map showing the location of the seven satellite positions | label1 = 24°W | position1 = top | background1 = #FFFFDD | lat1_deg = 0 | lon1_deg = -24 | label2 = 12°E | position2 = bottom | background2 = #FFFFDD | lat2_deg = 0 | lon2_deg = 12 | label3 = 35°E | position3 = top | background3 = #FFFFDD | lat3_deg = 0 | lon3_deg = 35 | label4 = 80°E | position4 = bottom | background4 = #FFFFDD | lat4_deg = 0 | lon4_deg = 80 | label5 = 130°E | position5 = top | background5 = #FFFFDD | lat5_deg = 0 | lon5_deg = 130 | label6 = 166°E | position6 = bottom | background6 = #FFFFDD | lat6_deg = 0 | lon6_deg = 166 | label7 = 159°W | position7 = top | background7 = #FFFFDD | lat7_deg = 0 | lon7_deg = -159 These satellites have been mistakenly described as Prognoz (unrelated to the earlier Prognoz SO-M programme) as the positions they occupy are reserved with the ITU under the codename Prognoz.
::data[format=table]
| Location Name | Longitude | Control Centre | Satellites |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prognoz-1 | 24°W | Serpukhov-15 | Kosmos 2379 Kosmos 2282 Kosmos 2224 Kosmos 2133 |
| Prognoz-2 | 12°E | Serpukhov-15 | Kosmos 2224 Kosmos 2133 |
| Prognoz-3 | 35°E | Serpukhov-15 | Kosmos 2133 |
| Prognoz-4 | 80°E | Serpukhov-15 | Kosmos 2379 Kosmos 2350 Kosmos 2133 Kosmos 2440 Kosmos 2479 |
| Prognoz-5 | 130°E | Pivan-1? | |
| Prognoz-6 | 166°E | Pivan-1? | |
| Prognoz-7 | 159°W | Pivan-1? | |
| :: |
Satellites
::data[format=table]
| Satellite | COSPAR ID | SATCAT No. | Product Number | Launch Date | Estimated Mission End Date | Estimated Operational Life |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kosmos 2133 | 21111 | 7120 | 14 February 1991 | 9 November 1995 | 4 years 9 months | |
| Kosmos 2224 | 22269 | 7121 | 17 December 1992 | 17 June 1999 | 6 years 6 months | |
| Kosmos 2282 | 23168 | 7123 | 6 July 1994 | 29 December 1995 | 1 year 5 months | |
| Kosmos 2350 | 25315 | 7122 | 29 April 1998 | 29 June 1998 | 2 months | |
| Kosmos 2379 | 26892 | 7124 | 24 August 2001 | late 2009/early 2010 | 8 years | |
| Kosmos 2397 | 27775 | 7126 | 24 April 2003 | June 2003 | 2 months | |
| Kosmos 2440 | 33108 | 7127 | 26 June 2008 | February 2010 | 1 year 4 months | |
| Kosmos 2479 | 38101 | 30 March 2012 | ||||
| :: |
Notes
References
|first = Pavel |last = Podvig |year = 2002 |title = History and the Current Status of the Russian Early-Warning System |journal = Science and Global Security |volume = 10 |issue = 1 |pages = 21–60 |issn = 0892-9882 |doi = 10.1080/08929880212328 |bibcode = 2002S&GS...10...21P |url = http://iis-db.stanford.edu/pubs/20734/Podvig-S&GS.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120315024323/http://iis-db.stanford.edu/pubs/20734/Podvig-S%26GS.pdf |archive-date = 2012-03-15 |citeseerx = 10.1.1.692.6127 |s2cid = 122901563
| url = http://www.ww2.dk/new/pvo/radar/916ortu.htm | title = 916th independent Radio-Technical Unit | access-date = 2012-04-22 | first = Michael | last = Holm | year = 2011 | publisher = Soviet Armed Forces 1945-1991 | archive-date = 2015-10-09 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151009123601/http://www.ww2.dk/new/pvo/radar/916ortu.htm | url-status = live
| url = http://www.ww2.dk/new/pvo/radar/1127ortu.htm | title = 1127th independent Radio-Technical Unit | access-date = 2012-04-22 | first = Michael | last = Holm | year = 2011 | publisher = Soviet Armed Forces 1945-1991 | archive-date = 2015-10-09 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151009124141/http://www.ww2.dk/new/pvo/radar/1127ortu.htm | url-status = live
References
- (17 November 2015). "Soyuz 2-1B launches EKS-1 to upgrade Russian Early Warning System".
- Pavel, Podvig. (2012-03-30). "Cosmos-2479 - new geostationary early warning satellite". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces.
- Krebs, Gunther Dirk. (2012-03-30). "US-KMO (71Kh6)". Gunther's Space Page.
- (n.d.). "Hartron-Arkos:Control Systems for Space and Ground Applications". Hartron-Arkos.
- Pavel, Podvig. (2010-04-28). "Early warning system is down to three satellites". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces.
- Pavel, Podvig. (2003-11-28). "Problems with Russian military satellites". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces.
- Pavel, Podvig. (2012-09-02). "Only two satellites left in Russia's early-warning system". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces.
- Graham, William. (2012-03-29). "Russian Proton-K completes 45 years of service with US-KMO satellite launch". NASA Spaceflight.
- Christy, Robert. (n.d.). "2012-012". Zarya.
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