Persona (satellite)

Persona is a class of Russian optical reconnaissance satellites built by TsSKB-Progress, with optics from LOMO and the Vavilov State Optical Institute. The design descends from the Resurs-DK remote sensing satellite, which in turn grew out of the Soviet Yantar reconnaissance satellites. The first, Kosmos 2441, went up on a Soyuz-2.1b from Plesetsk on 26 July 2008 and was reported to have failed to return useful imagery because of an electronics fault. Kosmos 2486 followed in June 2013 and was apparently operational by summer 2014, and Kosmos 2506 was launched in June 2015. Each satellite is about 7 metres long and 2.7 metres across, with a nadir resolution of about 33 centimetres in panchromatic imagery and a planned life of seven years. The program suffered repeated delays and cost overruns before the first launch. This entry rests on one encyclopedia article; a second independent source is owed.