Kosmos 668

Kosmos 668
Mission type ABM radar target
COSPAR ID 1974-058A
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type DS-P1-Yu
Manufacturer Yuzhnoye
Launch mass 400 kilograms (880 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date 25 July 1974, 12:00 UTC
Rocket Kosmos-2I 63SM
Launch site Plesetsk 133/1
End of mission
Decay date 21 February 1975
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Perigee 266 kilometres (165 mi)
Apogee 475 kilometres (295 mi)
Inclination 70.9 degrees
Period 92 minutes

Kosmos 668 (Russian: Космос 668 meaning Cosmos 668), also known as DS-P1-Yu No.74, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1974 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme. It was a 400-kilogram (880 lb) spacecraft, which was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and was used as a radar calibration target for anti-ballistic missile tests.[1]

The launch of Kosmos 668 took place from Site 133/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome,[2] and used a Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket. It occurred at 12:00 UTC on 25 July 1974, and resulted in the satellite successfully reaching low Earth orbit.[3] Upon reaching orbit, the satellite was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1974-058A.[4] The North American Aerospace Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 07385.

Kosmos 668 was the seventy-first of seventy nine DS-P1-Yu satellites to be launched,[1] and the sixty-fourth of seventy two to successfully reach orbit.[5] It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 266 kilometres (165 mi), an apogee of 475 kilometres (295 mi), 70.9 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 92 minutes.[6] It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 21 February 1975.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Wade, Mark. "DS-P1-Yu". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  2. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  3. Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  4. "Cosmos 668". NSSDC Master Catalog. US National Space Science Data Center. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  5. Krebs, Gunter. "DS-P1-Yu (11F618)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  6. 6.0 6.1 McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 2009-09-01.