Tselina (satellite)

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Tselina (Целина) was a family of Soviet military SIGINT satellites used by Russia’s armed forces. They could locate radio emitters precisely and identify what type of device was emitting, how it operated, and how active it was. This helped detect potential military actions by monitoring spikes in radio traffic, providing early warning that might not be available from other sources. The program began with two types, Tselina-O (Overview) and Tselina-D (Detailed). Around 1980 they were merged into a single satellite, Tselina-P, also known as Tselina-2. The system mainly targeted enemy radar equipment. Tselina satellites were numbered as part of the Kosmos series, and about 130 satellites were launched.