Orbita – an abandoned satellite communication terminal
Nearly half a century ago Soviet engineers created Orbita (the name means “orbit” in Russian), the first TV system that allowed to broadcast the Central Television of the USSR via an artificial satellite.
While nowadays, with digital TV, a standard satellite dish 25 inches in diameter is capable of receiving hundreds of channels, but back then, in 1967, a huge heavy dish antenna was required to only broadcast one channel.
Orbita is undoubtedly outdated, isn’t operational anymore and nobody needs it. And it’s a shame that an invention of Soviet scientists that was revolutionary at a time never found a place in a museum. Orbita is situated in a secluded spot in the middle of the tundra and slowly deteriorating as years go by…
Even from a couple hundred yards distance it is clear what a huge structure was necessary for receiving and processing a satellite signal:
A two-storey building under the antenna is something like a TV tuner:
Everything is in ruins.
The rooms are an absolute mess, the equipment of the station is scattered across the floors.
It is dark inside, so we had to use flashlights.
Climbed up to the roof:
There is a lot of rubbish around the station:
The telegraph poles look like crosses in a cemetery.
Utility buildings of Orbita.
A battery storage:
Somebody had taken apart a couple of batteries looking for something they could use or maybe sell later.
The road to Orbita:
Images by Sergey Dolya, reproduced with permission
