Kosmos 608

Kosmos 608
Mission type ABM radar target
COSPAR ID 1973-091A
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type DS-P1-Yu
Manufacturer Yuzhnoye
Launch mass 400 kilograms (880 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date 20 November 1973, 12:29:58 (1973-11-20UTC12:29:58Z) UTC
Rocket Kosmos-2I 63SM
Launch site Plesetsk 133/1
End of mission
Decay date 10 July 1974 (1974-07-11)
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Perigee 265 kilometres (165 mi)
Apogee 486 kilometres (302 mi)
Inclination 70.9 degrees
Period 92.1 minutes

Kosmos 608 (Russian: Космос 608 meaning Cosmos 608), known before launch as DS-P1-Yu No.69, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1973 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]

Launch

Kosmos 608 was successfully launched into low Earth orbit at 12:29:58 UTC on 20 November 1973.[2] The launch took place from Site 133/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome,[3] and used a Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket.

Orbit

Upon reaching orbit, the satellite was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1973-091A.[4] The North American Aerospace Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 06941.

Kosmos 608 was the sixty-sixth of seventy nine DS-P1-Yu satellites to be launched,[1] and the sixtieth of seventy two to successfully reach orbit.[5] It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 265 kilometres (165 mi), an apogee of 486 kilometres (302 mi), 70.9 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 92.1 minutes.[6] It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 10 July 1974.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Wade, Mark. "DS-P1-Yu". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  2. Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  3. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  4. "Cosmos 608". 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. 1 2 McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
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