# CORONAS-F
**Wikidata**: [Q5737410](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5737410)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/coronas-f

## Summary
CORONAS-F is a Russian space telescope that observed the Sun from Earth orbit between 31 July 2001 and 6 December 2005. Launched on a Tsyklon-3 rocket from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, the 2,340 kg satellite studied solar activity and space weather phenomena.

## Key Facts
- Launch date: 31 July 2001 at Plesetsk Cosmodrome Site 32
- Launch vehicle: Tsyklon-3 expendable rocket
- Orbit: 499 km × 540 km, 82.5° inclination, 95-minute period
- Mass: 2,340 kg
- International designations: COSPAR 2001-032A, NORAD 26873
- Mission duration: 4 years, 4 months, 6 days (ended 6 Dec 2005)
- Spacecraft type: space telescope
- Wikipedia editions: Spanish, French, Galician, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian

## FAQs
### Q: When did CORONAS-F operate?
A: The satellite worked from 31 July 2001 until it re-entered Earth's atmosphere on 6 December 2005, giving it a mission life of just over four years.

### Q: What rocket placed CORONAS-F in orbit?
A: A Soviet/Ukrainian Tsyklon-3 launch vehicle carried the telescope into space from Plesetsk Cosmodrome Site 32.

### Q: What were the orbit parameters?
A: CORONAS-F flew a low-Earth orbit with a 499 km perigee, 540 km apogee, 82.5° inclination, and completed one revolution every 95 minutes.

## Why It Matters
CORONAS-F formed part of Russia's CORONAS program—an acronym for "Complex Orbital Observations of Near-Earth Activity of the Sun." By maintaining a Sun-pointing platform in space for more than four years, the telescope delivered continuous data on solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and high-energy particle flux. These measurements improve space-weather forecasting, help safeguard satellites and power grids, and advance basic solar-physics research. The mission's longevity and high-inclination orbit also provided near-global coverage, filling gaps left by earlier solar observatories.

## Notable For
- One of the last successful flights of the Tsyklon-3 launcher family
- Longest-lived satellite in the CORONAS series at the time
- High-inclination orbit (82.5°) enabled solar observations from polar regions
- Returned data until atmospheric decay, maximizing scientific return

## Body
### Mission Profile
CORONAS-F lifted off on 31 July 2001, entered a 499 × 540 km, 82.5°-inclination orbit, and operated until 6 December 2005. The 2,340 kg spacecraft carried solar-pointing instruments to monitor ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma-ray emissions.

### Launch Vehicle
The Tsyklon-3, a three-stage liquid-fuel rocket developed in the Soviet Union and later operated by Ukraine, placed the telescope into its precise Sun-synchronous trajectory from Plesetsk Cosmodrome Site 32.

### End of Life
After more than four years of service, CORONAS-F succumbed to atmospheric drag and re-entered on 6 December 2005, concluding the mission.

## References

1. Jonathan's Space Report