Program: Luch

Means "beam"; also called Al'tair or SDRN

Russian program for LEO communications relay (e.g. Mir, Soyuz) and the Navy. This program is also known as SDRN (Satellite Data Relay Network).

The first generation satellites of this program were based on the Al'tair platform. The second generation's performance is said to increase the capacity of the channels by nearly 3 and its lifetime would be twice as long.

A next generation should launch no later than 2024, first satellite laned Luch 5VM, built by ISS Reshetnev.

Status: operational with 2 satellites

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