Cosmos 2556

The Bars-M satellite is a new electro-optical area surveillance satellite to replace the film-return Yantar-1KFT (Kometa) series and the cancelled Bars series. Bars-M is the second incarnation of the Bars project, which was started in the mid 1990ies to develop a successor for the Komtea class of area surveillance satellites. The original Bars project was halted in the early 2000s. In 2007, TsSKB-Progress was contracted for Bars-M, for which reportedly the Yantar-based service module was replaced by a newly developed advanced service module. The Bars-M satellites feature an electro-optical camera system called Karat, which is developed and built by the Leningrad Optical Mechanical Association (LOMO), and a dual laser altimeter instrument to deliver topographic imagery, stereo images, altimeter data, and high-resolution images with a ground resolution around 1 meter. The satellite uses a propulsion system called SVIT in a non-pressurized service module, which hints at a departure from the Yantar satellite bus. A weight of about 4000 kg has been reported. They are planned to operate for 5 years in orbit.