Meteor-3
Official name COSMOS 1612
Alternative name Cosmos-1612
Cospar ID 1984-120A
Norad ID 15406
Launch date 1984-11-27
Launch site PKMTR
Launch vehicle Tsiklon-3
Country/Organization Russia
Type application Meteorology
RCS size LARGE
Decay date 1985-01-31
Shape Cyl + 2 Pan
Mass (kg) 2180.38
Diameter (m) 2.4
Height (m) 6.5
Span (m^2) 12.7
Lifetime 2 years
Contractors VNIIEM
Configuration SP-2 bus
Power 2 deployable solar arrays, batteries

The Meteor-3 series was the third generation of soviet meteorological satellites. They were based on the Meteor-2 series.

The regular instrumentation consisted of:

  • TV camera systems MR-2000M and MR-900B
  • Klimat (Infrared Radiometer)
  • SM (Multichannel Spectrometer)
  • RMK-2 (Radiation Measurement Complex)

Meteor-3 6 carried additionally a TOMS (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer) instrument provided by NASA, similar to the one flown on Nimbus 7.

Meteor-3 7 also carried additional instruments: The ScaRaB (Scanner for Radiation Budget) cross-track scanning radiometer provided by CNES [France), Russia (Planeta, RKA) and Germany (GKSS); PRARE (Precise Range And Range-Rate Equipment), a German Microwave Tracking System); and a laser retro reflector array.

The Meteor-3 series was to be replaced by the improved Meteor-3M series, of which only one satellite was launched.

Satellite COSPAR Date LS Launch Vehicle Remarks
COSMOS 1612 1984-120A 1984-11-27 PKMTR Tsiklon-3
METEOR 3-1 1985-100A 1985-10-24 PKMTR Tsiklon-3
METEOR 3-2 1988-064A 1988-07-26 PKMTR Tsiklon-3
METEOR 3-3 1989-086A 1989-10-24 PKMTR Tsiklon-3
METEOR 3-4 1991-030A 1991-04-24 PKMTR Tsiklon-3
METEOR 3-5 1991-056A 1991-08-15 PKMTR Tsiklon-3
METEOR 3-6 1994-003A 1994-01-25 PKMTR Tsiklon-3 with Tubsat B