| Kondor | |
| Manufacturer: | NPO Mashinostroyeniya |
| Country: | Russia |
| Applications: | Optical imaging Radar imaging |
| Orbits: | Low Earth |
| Lifetime: | 3-5 years |
| Status: | In production |
| Built: | 3 |
| Orders: | 4 |
| Launched: | 3 |
| Operational: | 2 |
| First: | Kosmos 2487 (Kondor No.202) 27 June 2013 |
| Last: | Kondor-FKA No.1 26 May 2023 |
| Autoconvert: | off |
Kondor, GRAU index 14F133, is a series of Earth imaging or military reconnaissance satellites developed by NPO Mashinostroyeniya for the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces which in 2015 became the Russian Space Forces and export customers.[1] Satellites for the Russian military are designated "Kondor", whilst those for export are designated Kondor-E.
Kondor satellites are equipped to carry either synthetic aperture radar or electro-optical imaging payloads, with the first satellite, and are launched using the Strela carrier rocket, developed by NPO Mashinostroyeniya from retired UR-100NUTTKh missiles.[2]
A mass simulator named Gruzomaket (aka Kondor-E-GVM, COSPAR 2003-055A [3]) was launched on 5 December 2003, and almost ten years later, on 27 June 2013, the first spacecraft was launched. Kondor No.202 (aka Kosmos 2487, Kondor 1, COSPAR 2013-032A[4]) was operated by the Russian military,[5] and carried a radar imaging payload.[6] It was the first radar imaging satellite to be operated by the Russian military after the Soviet RORSAT and Almaz-T series. The first Kondor-E (Kondor-E 1, COSPAR 2014-084A[7]) launched 19 December 2014 for South Africa.[8]
Civilian versions of the satellite have been designed under the name Kondor-FKA or Kondor-FKA-M.[9] [10] The launch of the first Kondor-FKA satellite took place on 26 May 2023 from the Vostochny Cosmodrome,[11] while the launch of the second is planned for 2024.[12]