Space Brief 25 Jul 2025
Today's briefing covers Spire Global's new intelligence products, a significant military buildup in the Pacific, Space Force organizational changes, and more.
Launch Date
October 3, 1979
Launch Site
Launch Pad
LC200/40
Launch Vehicle
Proton-K/DM
NORAD ID
11561
International Designator
1979-087A
Epoch
Fri, 03 Jul 2026 20:31:32 GMT
Apogee
Calculating...
Perigee
Calculating...
Inclination
5.55°
Right Ascension
284.60°
Eccentricity
Calculating...
Argument of Perigee
189.22°
Period
1436.29 min
Mean Motion
1.00 rev/day
Latitude
Calculating...
Longitude
Calculating...
Altitude
Calculating...
Velocity
Calculating...
Name
EKRAN 4
Alternative Name
Ekran
Type
Status
Owner
MSVYAZ
Country
USSR
Constellation
N/A
Related Satellites
Major Events
N/A
1 11561U 79087A 26184.85523216 -.00000263 00000-0 00000-0 0 9990
2 11561 5.5527 284.6016 0011261 189.2172 212.2196 1.00258510 47543
Source: Celestrak
Length
5.5
Diameter
2.5
Span
9
Dry Mass
1850
Launch Mass
2000
Shape
Cyl + 2 Pan + Plate
Radar Cross Section
0.1995
Visual Magnitude
Unknown
Color
Unknown
Material Composition
Unknown
Payload
Ekran No. 17L
Purpose
Communication, direct broadcasting
Mission
Communication, direct broadcasting
Manufacturer
NPOPM
Life Expectancy
3 years
Bus
Ekran
Configuration
KAUR-3
Motor
Unknown
Equipment
1 (+1) UHF 200 W transponder, C-band uplink
Power System
2 deployable solar arrays, batteries
ADCS
Unknown
Transmitter Frequency
Unknown
Learn more about satellites and other related topics.
Today's briefing covers Spire Global's new intelligence products, a significant military buildup in the Pacific, Space Force organizational changes, and more.
SpaceX makes strides with United States national security satellites, securing substantial spectrum for Starlink's direct-to-cell services, and preparing for future Starship developments.
SpaceX targets May 19 for Starship Flight 12 debut, while CRS-34 delivers 6,500 lbs of cargo to ISS aboard a Falcon 9.
SpaceX pauses all Falcon 9 launches after upper stage anomaly during Starlink mission. Crew-12 astronaut launch may be affected. Booster 19 rolls out for cryogenic testing.
The compact data format that describes every tracked satellite orbit in just two lines of text, and how to read it
SpaceX launched 25 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg SFB on March 8, growing a constellation now totaling 9,924 active orbital nodes.
Today's space news highlights include U.S. military satellite deployments, innovative AI aboard the Chinese space station, and breakthroughs in interplanetary communications.
SpaceX achieves significant milestones with the launch of new Starlink satellites and the production of its 10 millionth Starlink kit amidst ongoing challenges with space station delays.