Koronas-Foton

Koronas-Foton
Mission typeSolar research
OperatorRoskosmos
MEPhI
NIIEM
COSPAR ID2009-003A
SATCAT no.33504
Mission duration3 years planned
10 months achieved
Spacecraft properties
BusMeteor-M
Launch mass1,900 kilograms (4,200 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date30 January 2009, 13:30:00 (2009-01-30UTC13:30Z) UTC
RocketTsyklon-3
Launch sitePlesetsk 32/2
End of mission
DisposalDecommissioned after malfunction
Deactivated1 December 2009 (2010-01)
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude529 kilometres (329 mi)
Apogee altitude559 kilometres (347 mi)
Inclination82.44 degrees
Period95.39 minutes
Epoch2 January 2014, 21:04:43 UTC

Koronas-Foton (Russian: Коронас-Фотон), also known as CORONAS-Photon (Complex Orbital Observations Near-Earth of Activity of the Sun-Photon), was a Russian solar research satellite. It was the third satellite in the Russian CORONAS programme, and part of the international Living With a Star programme. It was launched on 30 January 2009, from Site 32/2 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, aboard the final flight of the Tsyklon-3 rocket. On 1 December 2009 all scientific instruments on the satellite were turned off due to the problems with power supply that were caused by a design flaw. On 18 April 2010 the creators of the satellite announced it was lost "with a good deal of certainty".