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Dec. 25, 2020
With the help of the hydrometeorological geostationary Earth remote sensing satellite "Electro-L" No. 2, the specialists of the Operator of space means of remote sensing of the Earth of the State Corporation "Roscosmos" registered a lunar shadow on the Earth's surface during a solar eclipse observed from Chile, Argentina, in the southeast of the Pacific and in the southern Atlantic oceans on December 14, 2020.
The spacecraft is equipped with a multi-zone scanning device and other target equipment created by the Russian Space Systems (part of the Roscosmos State Corporation). Surveying equipment regularly surveys from space with a half-hour interval simultaneously in ten spectral ranges. The moon's shadow was clearly visible on the images of three short-wavelength channels (visible and near-infrared) in several sessions adjacent in time.
The ground-based facilities of the space survey operator - the Scientific Center for Operational Monitoring of the Earth - received data from the spacecraft and processed them using a specialized software package. One survey session - scanning, transmitting a signal to the Earth, receiving, processing and archiving information - takes about 12 minutes. During processing, radiometric correction, geometric processing and georeferencing are performed.
Electro-L satellite
The satellite is in geostationary orbit at 14.5 ° W. over the Atlantic Ocean at a distance of 36 thousand km above the Earth's surface. Electro-L # 2 was launched into orbit five years ago, on December 11, 2015.
Electro-L description
Spacecraft "Electro-L" are part of the geostationary hydrometeorological space system "Electro" and are intended for obtaining and preliminary processing of multispectral images of clouds and the underlying earth's surface of the entire observed disk of the Earth, obtaining heliophysical data in orbit, performing telecommunication functions for propagation, exchange of hydrometeorological and heliogeophysical data, as well as relaying signals from emergency beacons of the COSPAS-SARSAT system. The space system, as well as its spacecrafts, were developed at NPO Lavochkin (part of the State Corporation "Roscosmos").
ROSCOSMOS Press Release: https://www.roscosmos.ru/29682/
Animation, Images, Text, Credits: ROSCOSMOS/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
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