Kosmos 2368
Kosmos 2368 (Russian: Космос 2368 meaning Cosmos 2368) was a Russian US-K missile early warning satellite which was launched in 1999 as part of the Russian Space Forces' Oko programme. The satellite was designed to identify missile launches using optical telescopes and infrared sensors.[2]
| Mission type | Early warning |
|---|---|
| COSPAR ID | 1999-073A |
| SATCAT no. | 26042 |
| Mission duration | 4 years [1] |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | US-K [2] |
| Launch mass | 1,900 kilograms (4,200 lb)[3] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 27 December 1999, 19:12 UTC |
| Rocket | Molniya-M/2BL[2] |
| Launch site | Plesetsk Cosmodrome[2][3] |
| End of mission | |
| Deactivated | 2001/2002 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Molniya [2] |
| Perigee altitude | 576 kilometres (358 mi)[4] |
| Apogee altitude | 39,776 kilometres (24,716 mi)[4] |
| Inclination | 62.8 degrees[4] |
| Period | 717.74 minutes[4] |
Kosmos 2368 was launched from Site 16/2 at Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia.[5] A Molniya-M carrier rocket with a 2BL upper stage was used to perform the launch, which took place at 19:12 UTC on 27 December 1999.[3] The launch successfully placed the satellite into a molniya orbit. It subsequently received its Kosmos designation, and the international designator 1999-073A.[3] The United States Space Command assigned it the Satellite Catalog Number 26042.[3] The satellite (along with Kosmos 2340, Kosmos 2351, and Kosmos 2342) were lost after a 2001 fire destroyed the ground control building located at the Serpukhov-15 military base resulting in the loss of orbital control.[6]
References
- Podvig, Pavel (2002). "History and the Current Status of the Russian Early-Warning System" (PDF). Science and Global Security. 10: 21–60. doi:10.1080/08929880212328. ISSN 0892-9882. Archived from the original (pdf) on 2012-03-15.
- "US-K (73D6)". Gunter's Space Page. 2012-03-08. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
- "Cosmos 2388". National Space Science Data Centre. 2012-04-20. Retrieved 2012-04-25.
- McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
- McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
- Paleologue, A (2005). "Early Warning Satellites in Russia: What past, what state today, what future?". In Pejmun Motaghedi (ed.). Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 5799. Modeling, Simulation, and Verification of Space-based Systems II. SPIE. pp. 146–157. doi:10.1117/12.603478.