Meteor-3M Credit - NPO PM

The Meteor-3 weather satellite was to be followed in 1996 by the first of the Meteor-3M class, which was finally put into orbit in 2001. Use of the Zenit launch vehicle allowed the overall mass of the Meteor-3M spacecraft to be increased to 2,500 kg, including a larger payload of up to 900 kg. In addition, the average daily power available nearly doubled to 1 kW, and the spacecraft stabilization accuracy was improved by an order of magnitude. Pointing accuracy was improved. Satellite design lifetime increased to three years.

The store and forward transmission mode was converted from the earlier 466.5 MHz analogue to 1.69-1.71 GHz digital. The 1.4 diameter, 2.2 m long spacecraft bus carried a payload truss (as on Meteor 3) with dimensions 1.800 mm by 1.600 mm by 270 mm. High-temperature ammonia thrusters (0.147 N) were used for orbital adjustment of the basic 900 km 950 km orbit. Originally slated for a 900 km x 950 km orbit with an inclination of 82.5 degrees, Meteor 3M was instead inserted into a 1000 km altitude sun-synchronous orbit.

In 1994 NASA was negotiating with the Russian Space Agency to carry the SAGE III (Stratospheric and Aerosols and Gas Experiment) instrument on a 1998 Meteor. This did not fly until the first Meteor-3M flight in 2001.

Design Life: 3 years. Typical orbit: 1000 km circular, 100 deg inclination. Length: 2.20 m (7.20 ft). Maximum Diameter: 1.40 m (4.50 ft). Mass: 2,500 kg (5,500 lb).

• 2001 December 10 - Meteor-3M - Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Complex: LC45/1. Launch Vehicle: Zenit. Mass: 2,500 kg (5,500 lb). Perigee: 996 km (618 mi). Apogee: 1,015 km (630 mi). Inclination: 99.70 deg.
  Meteorology satellite. Launch postponed from late 2000, then delayed from November30. The Meteor-3M weather satellite carried visible and IR sensors as well as NASA's SAGE III instrument which studied aerosols and the ozone layer. This was the first launched of a modernised version of the spacecraft. Launch be Zenit launch vehicle from Baikonur rather than Tsyklon 3 from Plesetsk allowed the spacecraft to be 350 kg heavier, carrying additional sensors and various piggy-back payloads.