| Major contractors | Yuzhnoye |
|---|---|
| Bus | DS-P1-Yu |
| Mission type | ABM radar target |
| Launch date | 23 April 1970 13:20:00 GMT |
| Carrier rocket | Kosmos-2I 63SM |
| Launch site | Plesetsk Site 133/1 |
| Orbital decay | 9 August 1970 |
| COSPAR ID | 1970-033A |
| Mass | 325 kilograms (720 lb) |
| Orbital elements | |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Inclination | 70.9° |
| Apoapsis | 430 kilometres (270 mi) |
| Periapsis | 259 kilometres (161 mi) |
| Orbital period | 91.4 minutes |
Kosmos 334 (Russian: Космос 334 meaning Cosmos 334), known before launch as DS-P1-Yu #31, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1970 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme. It was a 325-kilogram (720 lb) spacecraft, which was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and was used as a radar calibration target for anti-ballistic missile tests.[1]
Kosmos 334 was launched from Site 133/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome,[2] atop a Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket. The launch occurred on 23 April 1970 at 13:20:00 GMT, and resulted in the successful deployment of Kosmos 334 into low Earth orbit.[3] Upon reaching orbit, it was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1970-033A.[4]
Kosmos 334 was the thirty-first of seventy nine DS-P1-Yu satellites to be launched,[1] and the twenty-ninth of seventy two to successfully reach orbit.[5] It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 259 kilometres (161 mi), an apogee of 430 kilometres (270 mi), 70.9 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 91.4 minutes.[1][6] It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 9 August 1970.[6]