Soyuz 2.1a launched the Condor-FKA No. 1 satellite from the Vostochny Cosmodrome

On May 27, at 00:14 UTC, a Soyuz 2.1a carrier rocket was launched from the 1C site of the Vostochny cosmodrome in Russia. On board the Soyuz was the Condor-ARF satellite No. 1, which was put into a sun-synchronous orbit. Condor satellites are a series of Earth observation satellites that provide intelligence services for the Russian military.

Condor satellites. The Condor satellite family is a series of satellites for Earth survey and military reconnaissance developed by NPO Mashinostroeniya. Condor satellites used for military purposes are simply referred to as Condor, and exported versions of satellites are referred to as Condor-E.

Condor satellites are equipped with an S-band synthesized aperture radar (RSA), which can carry out both continuous shooting of the field of view and detailed spot shooting of the Earth's surface. The width of the SAR viewing band is 10 kilometers with an area resolution of one to two meters in point shooting mode and from one to three meters in panorama mode and from five to 30 meters in scanning mode.

The first Condor satellite was launched in June 2013 aboard the Strela rocket, converted from the UR-100N-UTTH intercontinental ballistic missile. Having received the designation "Cosmos 2487" after launch, it became the first radar survey satellite operated by the Russian military after the Soviet satellites of the RORSAT and Almaz-T series. The first Condor-E satellite was launched in December 2014 for South Africa.

Source: AsrtoNews