Back Strela (Satellit) German Strela (satelliitti) Finnish Strela (satellite) French Strela Galician סטרלה (סדרת לוויינים) HE Sztrela (műhold) Hungarian Strela (satelit) ID Strela (satellite) Italian ストレラ (人工衛星) Japanese Strzała (satelita) Polish
| 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.
- ^ Brian Weeden (10 November 2010). "2009 Iridium-Cosmos Collision Factsheet" (PDF). Secure World Foundation.