Molniya-1
Version 1.0
Build: 1 Apr 2008
Orbiter addon by Andrew Thielmann (igel)
atil@pin-plus.ca
Credits
I start with credits, as probably 90% of the whole shine of this addon is to be attributed to the wonderful meshes and textures - and those are not mine :-). Nikita Vtyurin aka Thorton is fully responsible and gets full credit. He also was inspirational in tweaking the engine particle stream. I only had to write the dll module to animate the solar panels and antennas and add sounds. Well, integration of the new addon with the rest of the Molniya package also took some effort.
Introduction
Molniya-1 is the first Russian communication satellite. It was first launched in 1965, and its newer modifications are still operational today.
Molniya Orbit
Unlike most other communication satellites, Molniya-1 does not use a geostationary orbit. Launching geostationary satellites is very energy-inefficient from northerly-located Baikonur. Back in 1965, Russians did not have rockets powerful enough for that, and especially did not have orbital stages with multiple-ignition ability.
Instead, Molniya-1 uses a highly elliptical orbit with the apogee in the Northern Hemisphere and the perigee in the Southern Hemisphere. Due to the orbital mechanics, the satellite in such orbit spends most of the time close to apogee, with short fast perigee "swoops". This is a benefit, as the satellite is visible in the sky for long periods of time! Just three satellites with the orbits spaced at 120 degrees can provide 24-hour coverage. Due to this unique ability, Molniya-1 name got stuck to the unique orbit type, and these hi-elliptic orbits are now frequently referred to as the "Molniya orbits".
Ground Stations
While staying above the horizon for a long time, the satellite still is not stationary, and ground antennas require to track it in the sky. This makes the ground station a lot more complex and expensive in comparison with the geostationary communication. But what is a drawback in any other country, was not a problem for the limited capacity of the Soviet-era media. On the contrary, limited access to communication was ideally suited to the restrictive communist regime.
Molniya Rocket
Along with the orbit, Molniya-1 gave its name to the rocket that was used to launch it. Molniya rocket is a 4-stage rocket from the famous R-7 family. Three lower stages, that are used to get to the Low Earth Orbit, are identical between Molniya and Soyuz. The new addition that makes Molniya distinct is the orbital stage, so-called "block L".
In Russia, space rockets were usually named after the first payloads they launched. But this tradition is pretty soft. Molniya-1 was by far not the first payload for Molniya rocket. The rocket was flying since early 60-es, and by 1965 had launched many famous spacecrafts, including several lunar and planetary probes. But the traditional soviet secrecy had delayed the public announcement of the rocket existence until mid-60-es, so Molniya-1 launch was the first "public" appearance of the rocket.
For more information on the Molniya rocket, see Block L addon.
Operation
From the operational point of view, this addon is very simple. There is really nothing to do with it, rather than to watch the deployment of solar panels and antennas. This deployment happens automatically, there is no need to press any buttons. Just wait for the satellite to separate from block L, or load the already-in-orbit scenario.
Satellite is equipped with the propulsion unit for orbit corrections, so you may have some fun with it. Attitude control is provided by gyros.
Sounds
Addon is built with the OrviterSound v.3.5. Some custom sounds are provided, and some default sound behavior is overridden.
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