Krona | |
---|---|
Крона | |
Russia | |
Coordinates | 43°43′01″N 41°13′54″E / 43.716917°N 41.231688°E |
Type | Space surveillance base |
Site information | |
Owner | Russia |
Site history | |
Built | 1999 |
Krona space object recognition station (Russian: Радиооптический комплекс распознавания космических объектов «Крона», tr. Radiooptichesky Kompleks raspoznavaniya kosmicheskikh obektov "Krona") is a Russian military complex which is used to identify objects (artificial satellites) in outer space using telescopes and radar. It is part of the Centre for Outer Space Monitoring of the Russian Space Forces. The first Krona is near the village of Zelenchukskaya in Karachay-Cherkessia, North Caucasus. There is another under construction in the Russian Far East called Krona-N, near Nakhodka in Primorsky Krai. In 2007 the then commander of the Russian Space Forces Vladimir Popovkin said that the Nakhodka Krona would start in 2008, however there were no subsequent announcements.
The Caucasian Krona consists of two complexes - an optical one located on Chapal mountain (43°43′01″N 41°13′54″E / 43.7169171°N 41.2316883°E) above 2,000 metres and a radar installation 30 km away at a height of 1,300 metres (43°49′34″N 41°20′35″E / 43.82611°N 41.34306°E). One site for the Nakhodka Krona is 42°56′8.52″N 132°34′36.37″E / 42.9357000°N 132.5767694°E, and this site does not have an optical component.