The Meteor-M No. 2-4 climate satellite is being prepared for launch at the Vostochny Cosmodrome. The space head section has already been assembled under the satellite launch program - it will take place at the end of February. The Soyuz-2.1b rocket with the Meteor-M No. 2-4 satellite, according to Roscosmos, will be equipped with "secondary payload."
The head fairing has already been rolled onto the spacecraft and the Fregat upper stage. Now the space head section will be transferred to a transport trolley and sent through the transborder gallery to the MIC of the launch vehicle for docking with the third stage of the Soyuz.
Then, the general assembly with the "package" and the installation of a thermal cover on the space head section will take place on the transport and installation unit. Specialists will form a rolling stock for transportation to the launch site.
Preparatory work is also underway at the launch complex. The launch complex team is checking the operability of the systems and units of technological equipment.
Also, the work in preparation for the launch includes the planned retraction of the mobile service tower and return to its original state, acceptance, storage and preparation of rocket fuel components and compressed gases for refueling before launch.
Meteor-M No. 2-4
Meteor-M No. 2-4 is the sixth spacecraft in the Meteor-M series with the equipment of the international space search and rescue system COSPAS-SARSAT installed on it. It was delivered to Vostochny in December 2023.
Meteor-M is equipped with an on-board radar complex based on an active phased antenna array and helio-geophysical instruments (a short-wave reflected radiation meter and a radio-frequency mass spectrometer). This equipment will provide all-weather radar monitoring of the Northern Sea Route and expand the range of controlled helio-geophysical parameters.
The device will monitor the climate, control the helio-geophysical situation in near-Earth space, receive information from automatic data collection measuring platforms and work with COSPAS-SARSAT.