NSSDCA/COSPAR ID: 2000-026A
Simsat 1 and Simsat 2 were launched by the new Russian rocket named Rokot from Plesetsk cosmodrome at 08:28 UT. Both satellites were dummies simulating future commercial launches. (Earlier, the USSPACECOM had named the Simsats as Dummysats.) Rokot was the two-stage UR-100N ICBM (known as SS-19 in NATO), but augmented by the addition of a Bris-Km booster stage and capable of launching two-ton satellites into low earth orbits inexpensively. (Previous launches of the SS-19 from a silo had engendered unacceptable acoustic impact on the payload.)
Launch Date: 2000-05-16
Launch Vehicle: Rokot
Launch Site: Plesetsk, Russia
Questions and comments about this spacecraft can be directed to: Coordinated Request and User Support Office