Kosmos 553

Kosmos 553
Mission type ABM radar target
COSPAR ID 1973-020A
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type DS-P1-Yu
Manufacturer Yuzhnoye
Launch mass 400 kilograms (880 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date 12 April 1973, 11:49:55 (1973-04-12UTC11:49:55Z) UTC
Rocket Kosmos-2I 63SM
Launch site Plesetsk 133/1
End of mission
Decay date 11 November 1973 (1973-11-12)
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Perigee 264 kilometres (164 mi)
Apogee 470 kilometres (290 mi)
Inclination 70.9 degrees
Period 91.9 minutes

Kosmos 553 (Russian: Космос 553 meaning Cosmos 553), known before launch as DS-P1-Yu No.55, 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 553 was successfully launched into low Earth orbit at 11:49:55 UTC on 12 April 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 1973-020A.[4] The North American Aerospace Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 06427.

Kosmos 553 was the sixty-first of seventy nine DS-P1-Yu satellites to be launched,[1] and the fifty-fifth of seventy two to successfully reach orbit.[5] It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 264 kilometres (164 mi), an apogee of 470 kilometres (290 mi), 70.9 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 91.9 minutes.[6] It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 11 November 1973.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Wade, Mark. "DS-P1-Yu". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  2. ↑ Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  3. ↑ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  4. ↑ "Cosmos 553". NSSDC Master Catalog. US National Space Science Data Center. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  5. ↑ Krebs, Gunter. "DS-P1-Yu (11F618)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  6. 1 2 McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
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