Стрела — серия низкоорбитальных спутников связи, разработанных и производимых НПО ПМ.


Strela-3 was second generation of strategic store-dump military communications satellite. Development of this generation to replace the first generation Strela-1M and Strela-2M satellites began in 1973.
Heavier than the Strela-1M, it was launched in sixtuplets on Tsiklon-3 boosters. The operational constellation consisted of twelve spacecraft in two orbital planes, spaced 90 degrees apart. The spacecraft had a cylindrical body (height: 1.50 m, diameter: 1.00 m) with a gravity-gradient boom, which was extended on-orbit to provide passive attitude stabilization. These satellites had a single simultaneous earth-space and space-earth channel. On-board storage was 12 Mbits of data, with a transmission rate of 2.4 kbit/sec. NII-TP was responsible for the communications payload.
The first satellites were deployed in 1985 and the system was accepted into military service in 1990. Two years later Strela-3 replaced the Strela-1M system and after 1994 also the Strela-2M.
Due to the retirement of the Tsiklon-3 launcher, the Strela-3 satellites were switched in 2002 to the Kosmos-3M booster, which can launch two satellites at one time. In 2008 the Rokot-KM was introduced, which enables the launch of tripletts.
A civilian version of the Strela-3 is offered as the Gonets, which shared some launches with Strela-3 satellites.
Improved versions of the Strela-3 satellites are launched as the Strela-3M or Rodnik-S series.