Strela (satellite)

Strela

Strela
Manufacturer	NPO PM
Country of origin	Soviet Union Russia
Operator	VKS / GRU VKO
Applications	Military communications
Specifications
Power	40 watts from solar panels
Batteries	Nickel hydrogen
Equipment	UHF transponders (NATO B / D band) Data rate of up to 64 kb/s)
Regime	Low Earth
Design life	5 years
Production
Status	Operational
Related spacecraft
Derivatives	Gonets (civil satellites)

Strela (Russian: Стрела, for Arrow) is a Russian (previously Soviet) military communications satellite constellation operating in low Earth orbit. These satellites operate as mailboxes ("store-and-forward"): they remember the received messages and then resend them after the scheduled time, or by a command from the Earth. Some sources state the satellites are capable of only three months of active operation, but through coordination with others^[1] they can serve for about five years. The satellites are used for transmission of encrypted messages and images.