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]
Mission type | ABM radar target |
---|---|
COSPAR ID | 1973-091A |
SATCAT no. | 06941 |
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 | UTC
Rocket | Kosmos-2I 63SM |
Launch site | Plesetsk 133/1 |
End of mission | |
Decay date | 10 July 1974 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | Low Earth |
Perigee altitude | 265 kilometres (165 mi) |
Apogee altitude | 486 kilometres (302 mi) |
Inclination | 70.9 degrees |
Period | 92.1 minutes |
Launch
editKosmos 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
editUpon 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
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Wade, Mark. "DS-P1-Yu". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 2 June 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
- ^ Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
- ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
- ^ "Cosmos 608". NSSDC Master Catalog. US National Space Science Data Center. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
- ^ Krebs, Gunter. "DS-P1-Yu (11F618)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
- ^ a b McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 1 September 2009.