[FPSPACE] Next Zenit To Carry Yenisey Spysat

[JamesOberg@aol.com]

UKRAINIAN ROCKET TO LAUNCH CLASSIFIED RUSSIAN MILITARY  SATELLITE
 KIEV INTELNEWS IN ENGLISH 0900 GMT 12 SEP 00
   TEXT OF REPORT IN ENGLISH BY UKRAINIAN NEWS AGENCY INTELNEWS

   KIEV, 11TH SEPTEMBER: A CLASSIFIED MILITARY SATELLITE FOR THE RUSSIAN 
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE WILL RIDE INTO ORBIT THIS MONTH ATOP A UKRAINIAN-BUILT 
ZENIT 2 ROCKET, CURRENTLY BEING READIED FOR LAUNCH ON 25TH SEPTEMBER FROM THE 
BAYKONUR SPACEDROME.
   SOURCES WITHIN THE INDUSTRY SAID THAT THE SPACECRAFT, CODE-NAMED YENISEY, 
WAS THE ZENIT'S PRIMARY PAYLOAD. THE YENISEY SPACECRAFT, NAMED AFTER A 
SIBERIAN RIVER, IS NOT PART OF ANY KNOWN RUSSIAN  PROJECT.
   HOWEVER, RUSSIAN SOURCES SAID THAT THE SATELLITE COULD BE A LIKELY 
SUCCESSOR TO THE ORLETS 2 RECONNAISSANCE SPACECRAFT, PREVIOUSLY LAUNCHED BY A 
ZENIT 2.
   ORLETS 2, ONE OF THE MOST ADVANCED RUSSIAN SPY SATELLITES, PROVIDES 
HIGH-RESOLUTION INTELLIGENCE IMAGERY. THE 12-TONNE SPACECRAFT SPORTS 22 
REENTRY CAPSULES THAT ARE USED TO RETURN EXPOSED PHOTOGRAPHIC FILM TO EARTH. 
ORLETS SATELLITES ARE BUILT BY THE TSSKB DEVELOPMENT CENTRE IN THE RUSSIAN 
CITY OF SAMARA. THE LAST SPACECRAFT OF THIS TYPE WAS LAUNCHED IN 1994.
   EARLIER REPORTS INDICATED THAT THE PAYLOAD FOR THE UPCOMING ZENIT LAUNCH 
WOULD BE A TSELINA 2 ELECTRONIC-INTELLIGENCE SPACECRAFT. TSELINA 2 HAS BEEN 
THE MOST FREQUENT MILITARY PAYLOAD CARRIED BY THE ZENIT 2, INCLUDING THE MOST 
RECENT LAUNCH LAST FEBRUARY.
   REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DNIPROPETROVSK-BASED PIVDENNE CONSTRUCTION BUREAU 
YURIY ALEKSEYENKO SAID THAT A RUSSIAN MANUFACTURER HAD SUPPLIED THE PAYLOAD 
FOR THE UPCOMING FLIGHT AND PIVDENNE HAD PROVIDED ONLY THE LAUNCH VEHICLE FOR 
THIS MISSION. PIVDENNE IS A MANUFACTURER OF BOTH ZENIT ROCKETS AND TSELINA 
SATELLITES.
   ACCORDING TO ALEKSEYENKO, THE ZENIT 2 AND ITS PAYLOAD HAVE
ALREADY BEEN DELIVERED TO BAYKONUR AND THE PROCESSING TEAM FROM PIVDENNE 
ARRIVED AT THE KAZAKHSTAN LAUNCH SITE TO ASSIST IN 
PREPARATION FOR THE LAUNCH.

[DESCRIPTION OF SOURCE: KIEV INTELNEWS IN ENGLISH --
ENGLISH-LANGUAGE NEWS AGENCY]