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Co-orbital ASAT

The principal and only dedicated ASAT system is referred to as the Co-orbital ASAT in reference to its engagement profile. Developed by the Kometa TsNPO under Academician Savin, the Co-orbital ASAT is based on the Tsyklon-2 booster and was tested 20 times in space during the period October, 1968-June, 1982. For each test a dedicated target vehicle was first placed into a low Earth orbit (the first two by the Tsyklon-2 from Baikonur and later targets by the Kosmos-3M from Plesetsk). The Co-orbital ASAT would then be launched from Baikonur on either a 1-revolution or a 2-revolution intercept. The interceptor was 1,400 kg with a principal diameter of 1.8 m and a length of 4.2 m, while the target was a 650-kg polyhedron with a diameter of 1.4 m.

The co-orbital plane requirement meant that launch opportunities occurred as the orbital plane of the target satellite passed through the Tyuratam launch site twice each day. In practice, only one opportunity per day was acceptable to prevent launches toward the PRC. From an initial, low-altitude parking orbit, the Co-orbital ASAT would quickly maneuver into a transfer orbit with a greater or lesser orbital period than the target to permit an intercept over Europe after one or two complete circuits about the Earth, i.e., approximately 90-200 minutes after launch. Within minutes of the actual attack, the Co-orbital ASAT would maneuver a final time to establish the required end-game conditions. A conventional warhead would then be detonated to effect the negation.

The initial test phase of the Co-orbital ASAT program was conducted during 1968-1971 with an assessed five successes out of seven attempts. In all but one case, a cloud of debris caused by the breakup of the Co-orbital ASAT at the time of warhead detonation was left in LEO. This series of tests validated the operational envelope of the weapon from as low as 230 km to a height of 1,000 km.

Between 1976 and 1982 13 more tests were conducted, primarily to perfect a more rapid intercept profile and to evaluate a new acquisition sensor. Whereas the first seven tests had all required two revolutions, tests 8 nd 9 attempted single-revolution attacks as did tests 12 and 13. In both cases the first attempt was judged a failure and the second attempt a success. The last of these tests demonstrated a reach to an altitude of nearly 1,600 km.

Several of the other missions in the Phase 2 test program reportedly employed an optical or IR sensor for target acquisition rather than the standard radar seeker. All attempts with the new sensor are believed to have failed. However, a radar-equipped Co-orbital ASAT was flown on a 2-revolution profile in 1977 to prove that a target at an altitude as low as 159 km in an elliptical orbit could be successfully negated.

All missions after 1970 were flown at inclinations near 65.8 degrees to satisfy range safety restrictions at both Plesetsk (target) and Baikonur (Co-orbital ASAT). The lack of testing for more than 12 years has raised some questions about the current operational status of the Co-orbital ASAT. The Tsyklon-2 has been flown frequently in support of ocean reconnaissance programs and in August, 1989, the US Secretary of Defense claimed "conclusive evidence" existed that the system was "in a constant state of readiness." Nearly three years later a Russian publication appeared to confirm its operational status (Reference 107). Two launch pads are available at Baikonur, each capable of supporting several ASAT missions per day (Reference 108). Although the Co-orbital ASAT has never been launched from Plesetsk, the assumed commonalty of Tsyklon-2 and Tsyklon-3 launch pads should make such operations feasible.

107. Nezavisimaya Gazeta, 21 November 1991, p. 5.

108. The Soviet Space Challenge, Department of Defense, US Government Printing Office, November, 1987, p.11.

Sources and Resources

• Adapted from: Europe and Asia in Space 1993-1994, Nicholas Johnson and David Rodvold [Kaman Sciences / Air Force Phillips Laboratory]

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