[Satellite TODAY Insider 02-03-11] The Russian military has restored contact with the Geo-IK-2 Reshetnev satellite after it failed to communicate and establish radio contact with its ground control antennas following its launch from the Plesetsk spaceport Feb 2.
    Geo-IK-2 was designed to help the Russian military draw 3-D maps of the Earth in order to locate the positions of various targets. The satellite’s launch on a Rokot SS-18 intercontinental ballistic missile-based rocket, which was delayed from December due to technical malfunctions, placed Geo-IK-2 in a different orbit than the one planned for the mission. Russian military officials said ground control located the orbit the satellite entered and established contact shortly after.
    Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Com. Oleg Stapenko said that while contact has been established, officials are trying to determine if its orbit would allow the spacecraft to complete its assigned mission. “We are currently maintaining steady contact. The satellite’s elliptical orbit was not as dramatically off course as originally suspected, but a joint task force of space and defense officials are now studying whether the craft can be made operational.”
    The loss of another satellite would be a major setback for Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who fired two top space officials less than five weeks ago for the failed launch of three Glonass-M satellites in December. That failure prevented the intended 24-satellite global positioning constellation to operate at its full capacity.
Russia switched on two reserve Glonass-M satellites in order to compensate for the ones that were lost. Russian space agency Roscosmos plans to launch another three Glonass-M satellites on a Proton heavy carrier rocket later this year, with a Glonass-K launch scheduled by the end of March to bring the number of operational satellites in orbit to 23.

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