Kosmos 257

Kosmos 257
Mission type ABM radar target
COSPAR ID 1968-107A
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type DS-P1-Yu
Manufacturer Yuzhnoye
Launch mass 325 kilograms (717 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date 3 December 1968, 14:52:21 (1968-12-03UTC14:52:21Z) UTC
Rocket Kosmos-2I 63SM
Launch site Plesetsk 133/1
End of mission
Decay date 5 March 1969 (1969-03-06)
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Perigee 261 kilometres (162 mi)
Apogee 396 kilometres (246 mi)
Inclination 70.9 degrees
Period 91.10 minutes

Kosmos 257 (Russian: Космос 257 meaning Cosmos 257), known before launch as DS-P1-Yu No.17, was a Soviet satellite which was used as a radar calibration target for tests of anti-ballistic missiles. It was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and launched in 1968 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.[1] It had a mass of 325 kilograms (717 lb).[1]

Kosmos 257 was launched from Site 133/1 at Plesetsk,[2] atop a Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket. The launch occurred on 3 December 1968 at 14:52:21 UTC, and resulted in Kosmos 257's successful deployment into low Earth orbit.[3] Upon reaching orbit, it was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1968-107A.

Kosmos 257 was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 261 kilometres (162 mi), an apogee of 396 kilometres (246 mi), 70.9 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 91.10 minutes.[1][4] It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 5 March 1969.[4] It was the seventeenth of seventy nine DS-P1-Yu satellites to be launched,[1] and the sixteenth of seventy two to successfully reach orbit.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Wade, Mark. "DS-P1-Yu". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  2. ↑ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  3. ↑ Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  4. 1 2 McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  5. ↑ Krebs, Gunter. "DS-P1-Yu (11F618)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 11 August 2009.


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