Strela-1 - Strela-1 prototype. Later spacecraft in the series are believed to be similar in appearance. 26,012 bytes. 260 x 388 pixels.

The Strela communications system consisted of a constellation of medium orbit store-dump satellites that provided survivable communications for Soviet military and intelligence forces. The operational constellation consisted of several dozen Strela-1M and 8 Strela-2M satellites. The small Strela-1M was used for open information only, and received data uploads from military units, with the messages held and then retransmitted to ground stations when the satellite was over Soviet territory. The system was developed experimentally in the 1960's, with flight tests from 1964 to 1965. Reshetnev was the chief designer in collaboration with the KB Krasnoyarsk Radio-Technical Factory (V G Taranenko) and MNIIRS MPSS (Yu S Bikov). Flight tests of the operational system began in 1970. Production system work began in 1972. In 1973 the Strela 1M system was accepted by the military. The Kosmos 3M was the launch vehicle, with eight Strela-1M satellites launched at a time. The eight satellites would be in similar 1500 km altitude orbits with periods varying between 114.5 to 116.0 minutes. . The intentional orbital period difference ensured that the satellites would become randomly spaced about the orbital plane shortly after launch. Strela-1M was replaced by the somewhat larger and more capable Strela-3 beginning in 1985. A total of 360 Strela-1M reached orbit before the satellite was phased out in 1992.

Total Length: 0.8 m. Maximum Diameter: 0.8 m. Total Mass: 61 kg.

Central Committee of the Communist Party and Council of Soviet Ministers Decree 'On tasking NII-4 to create a sea-based communications network' was issued.

Eight satellites launched by a single carrier rocket.

Eight satellites launched by a single carrier rocket.

Eight satellites launched by a single carrier rocket.

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Strela-1M 21,253 bytes. 223 x 321 pixels.

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Eight satellites launched by a single carrier rocket.

Eight satellites launched by a single carrier rocket.

Eight satellites launched by a single carrier rocket.

Eight satellites launched by a single carrier rocket.

• 2 - McDowell, Jonathan, The United Nations Registry of Space Objects, Harvard University, 1997. HTML when accessed: http://hea-www.harvard.edu/QEDT/jcm/space/un/un.html
• 6 - JPL Mission and Spacecraft Library, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1997. HTML when accessed: http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/home.html
• 445 - Melnik, T G, Voenno-Kosmicheskiy Siliy, Nauka, Moscow, 1997..
• 450 - Frolov, I, Kosmodrom, "Kratkiy istoricheskiy obzor sovietskikh (rossiyskikh) voennikh sredstv", No. 8, 1999, p. 21..