Okean-O

Okean-O [NKAU]

Okean-O was a joint Ukrainian and Russian remote sensing satellite program designed as a follow on to the Okean-O1 series. It was designed to gather remote sensing data crucial for research of natural resources of the Earth and world oceans. The mission also included ecological monitoring and management of externalities (weather forecast, hazards prevention).

The Okean-O 1 satellite was financed mainly by NKAU (National Space Agency of Ukraine) and to some extent by RKA (Russian Space Agency). It was designed by the Yangel Yuzhnoye State Design Office, and manufactured at the NPO Yuzhny Machine-Building Plant Production Association (Yuzhmash), Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine.

The mission of the Okean-O satellite was:

• Monitoring flora and soil conditions,
• Surveys of atmosphere and oceans,
• Research of ice-covered surfaces,
• Study of physical and geological structures, and
• weather and climate forecast.

The satellite structure with a diameter of 1.9 m and a length of 6.6 m was derived from the Tselina-2-bus. The 6360 kg satellite was powered by a single articulating solar array providing up to 3.5 kW. The design life was three years.

Following instruments were on board:

• MSU-V 8-band multispectral scanner with a swath width of 180 km and a resolution of 50 m
• MSU-SK 5-band multispectral scanner with a swath width of 600 km and a resolution of 175 km × 245 m
• MSU-M 4-band multispectral scanner with a swath width of 1930 km and a resolution of 1.7 km
• RLSBO-D side-looking radar with a swath width of 700 km and a resolution of 1.5 km × 2.0 km
• Delta-2D scanning radiometer with a swath width of 900 km and a resolution of 16 km × 21 km
• Kondor-2 onboard data collection system

The Okean-O satellite was launched on a Zenit-2 rocket into orbit on 17 July 1999. In the fall of 2000, the satellite suffered attitude control problems and stopped operating after about one third of its design life.

Both space agencies, NKAU and RKA, did not provide any funding for the development of a further Okean-O spacecraft due to the tight economic situation in Ukraine and in Russia and the program was ended.