Space Forum / Shuttle / March 2008

I noticed on NASA TV when they show the
world map with the ground tack for the ISS
and shuttle there are five  areas outlined
in yellow spread accross norther Eurasia,
basicly across Russia and Siberia.  They
look to be pear shaped, which I think is the
Mercator projection of a circle for those
latitudes.  Each has a four letter label ending
in 'R'.  With the resolution fo my screen
the only one I can make out entirely is 'ULDR'

What are those areas?

My guess is that they show the visibility of
the ISS from some sort of ground stations.
But why only over Russia?   Are those areas
where the Russians have some sort of
tansmitters, maybe radar left over from the
old Soviet equivalent of the Dew line?

BTW, the green area labeled SAA in the
South Atlantic is the South Atlantic Anomoly.
These are different.

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FF