Communications
Gonets-M are an upgraded version of Gonets satellites, derived from military communications system Strela-3. Gonets-M constellation is tasked with monitoring ecological and industrial objects, providing communication and data transmission services, covering also the remote areas like the Far North region. This launch also carries 22 small satellites as a rideshare payloads. These are cubesats for commercial companies such as Spire and Kepler Communications, as well as cubesats for various international universities.
Orbital Attempt
#5,998
VKS Mission
#113
Pad Launch
#302
Location Launch
#1,638
Designator
2020-068
Sep 28, 2020, 11:20 AM
1 update
11:00 AM
Window Open
12:15 PM
Window Close
Plesetsk Cosmodrome is a Russian spaceport located in Mirny, Arkhangelsk Oblast, about 800 km north of Moscow and approximately 200 km south of Arkhangelsk. Originally developed as an ICBM site for the R-7 missile, it also served for numerous satellite launches using the R-7 and other rockets. Its high latitude makes it useful only for certain types of launches, especially the Molniya orbits, so for much of the site's history it functioned as a secondary location, with most orbital launches taking place from Baikonur, in the Kazakh SSR. With the end of the Soviet Union, Baikonur became a foreign territory, and Kazakhstan charged $115 million usage fees annually. Consequently, Plesetsk has seen considerably more activity since the 2000s.
Timezone
Europe/Moscow
Local Launch Time
Sep 28, 2020, 2:20 PM
Total Launches
1,686
Total Landings
0
Coordinates
62.9256, 40.5778
