Strela (satellite)

Strela (Стрела, arrow) is a Ukrainian (previously Soviet) military communications satellite constellation operating in low Earth orbit.

History
The first three satellites, Kosmos 38 (reentered 1964-11-08), Kosmos 39 (reentered 1964-11-17) and Kosmos 40 (reentered 1964-11-17), were launched on 18 August 1964. Five different types of Strela satellites have been launched, designated Strela-1 (1964-65), Strela-1M (1970-1992), Strela-2 (1965-1968), Strela-2M (1970-1994), and Strela-3 (1985-2010). Strela satellites are also used for the civilian Gonets program. The current version of Strela, Strela-3M is also known as Rodnik.

Accidents and incidents

 * At 16:55 GMT on 10 February 2009, Kosmos 2251, a retired Strela-2M, collided with the operational Iridium 33 satellite.