A dozen days ago, a satellite code-named "Cosmos-2422" rushed from space at a speed of Mach 22 over the South Pacific Ocean, and the satellite was directly vaporized under the extremely high temperature generated by the high-speed friction with the atmosphere, and only a small number of parts fell into the ocean.
Satellite re-entry into the atmosphere
After investigation, it was learned that this is a veritable strategic satellite, Cosmos-2422 is a Russian eye-1 series infrared early warning satellite, the satellite is 2 meters long, 1.7 meters in diameter, a total weight of 2.4 tons, the overall cylindrical structure, equipped with a large-aperture infrared optical telescope. The series of satellites generally operates on a network of nine satellites, each operating in a large elliptical orbit at an apogee of 40,000 kilometers, with a focus on monitoring the northern hemisphere.
Infrared early warning satellite is a real heavy weapon of a big country, looking at the world has no more than 3 countries with independent development of such satellites, its research and development difficulty is even more difficult than intercontinental missiles, its role is to extend the strategic warning time for at least 15 minutes for oneself, in the strategic attack and defense in minutes and seconds, 15 minutes is enough to decide the outcome of a war.
Infrared early warning satellites can detect missile tail flames
It can passively monitor the active flight section of the enemy ballistic missile from take-off to the combat part in a wide area, and infrared early warning satellites can locate targets based on the missile tail flame and the high temperature radiation formed by the tail flame and the surrounding air.
Sadly, the Cosmos-2422 satellite that crashed into the South Pacific Ocean is the last of Russia's Eye-1 series of infrared early warning satellites, which failed several years ago. The fall means that the Eye-1 series of early warning satellites has officially become history, and it also shows that the Russian strategic early warning system is encountering an unprecedented development crisis.
Infrared early warning satellite
Since the first test satellite entered orbit in the 1970s, the Eye series of infrared early warning satellites has been deployed in a row for nearly 90 consecutive months, but now there is not a single one. Also working in conjunction with the Eye-1 Large Elliptical Orbit Infrared Warning Satellite is the "Forecast" series of infrared early warning satellites, which deploy in a geosynchronous orbit about 36,000 kilometers from Earth, and unfortunately the forecast series of satellites has also been exhausted.
The Eye-1 and Forecast series was replaced by the "Tundra" series of infrared early warning satellites deployed in November 2015, but so far it has only launched 3 satellites, although the satellite's functions have been enhanced, but it is a drop in the bucket for global surveillance needs, and it is still a long way from the ten-star networking plan.
Russia's latest generation of Yars land-based missiles
The lack of strategic early warning capabilities will greatly weaken Russia's strategic counterattack capabilities, so why can Russia tolerate all this?
The Eye-1 and forecast series are both products of the 1980s and 1990s, when the Russian-made satellites had a short life in orbit due to the low level of spaceborne components, usually one to two years will fail, and only one of the nearly 90 satellites in the Eye-1 series has a working time of 5 years.
The lifespan of Russian spacecraft is generally short
The short service life requires a large number of launched networking satellites to make up for it, and due to well-known reasons, Russia's comprehensive national strength has not slowed down for a long time, resulting in insufficient financial capacity to support large-scale satellite networking projects.
As the country that gave birth to mankind's first artificial satellite, Russia's current scale of satellites in orbit has shrunk from nearly a thousand in its heyday to more than 100 today, and its satellites in orbit are only one-half of our size.
70% of the components of the GLONAS satellite are imported
After the separation of the family in the 1990s, the original backward satellite supporting industry chain has been divided up for the second time, so that many Russian satellite products are now highly dependent on imported space-level spaceborne components. Taking glonas navigation satellites as an example, more than 70% of the components need to be imported, in August this year, the Leschetnev Information Satellite System Co., Ltd., which is responsible for the manufacture of GLONAS satellites, sent out a Chinese procurement team, which will import a large number of aerospace-grade spaceborne components from the Ninth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group.
The domestic production rate of Beidou satellite is 100%
After talking so much, everyone must be very concerned about the construction of Infrared Early Warning Satellites in China, such domestic satellites have always disclosed very little information due to their special role, and the official only disclosed that China has an outpost series of infrared early warning satellites for the first time three years ago, which is the only official information of this type of satellite so far.
High-score special engineering satellite
Infrared early warning satellites are also earth-based remote sensing satellites in the final analysis, and we have always attached great importance to the earth-based remote sensing business, and in 2006 officially launched the special project of high-resolution Earth observation system, referred to as "high-score special project". In addition, there are two series of satellites, "remote sensing" and "practice", and there are many special function satellites in the three series of satellites, including infrared early warning functions.
You can also peek at the leopard from the Jilin No. 1 commercial remote sensing constellation of Changguang Satellite Company to China's infrared early warning capability tube, which has twice conducted space-based video imaging of carrier rocket launch missions, one of which is the long march 11 fast-reaction rocket sea launch video imaging, and the long march 11 was originally a derivative of DF-31.
The Jilin No. 1 satellite photographed the sea launch of the Long March 11
Infrared early warning satellites have high requirements for spaceborne optical components, and China's optical products have gradually leveled the world-class level. Last year, Changchun Optical Machinery Institute successfully prepared the world's largest 4-meter-class silicon carbide mirror, which can not only be used for large-diameter optical remote sensing satellites, but also for the production and manufacture of large-diameter infrared optical equipment.
Domestic world's largest caliber silicon carbide mirror
Dongfeng Express, the mission will be achieved, relying not only on Dongfeng Express, but also on a superpower industrial chain as a strategic support.