Kosmos 606

Kosmos 606 (Russian: Космос 606 or Cosmos 606) was a Soviet US-K missile early warning satellite which was launched in 1973 as part of the Soviet military's Oko programme. The satellite was designed to identify missile launches using optical telescopes and infrared sensors.[2]

Kosmos 606

Mission type	Early warning
COSPAR ID	1973-084A
SATCAT no.	6916
Mission duration	4 years [1]
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	US-K [2]
Launch mass	1,900 kilograms (4,200 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	2 November 1973, 13:01 (1973-11-02UTC13:01Z) UTC
Rocket	Molniya-M/2BL[2]
Launch site	Plesetsk Cosmodrome[2][3]
End of mission
Deactivated	30 April 1974[1]
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Molniya [2]
Perigee altitude	658 kilometres (409 mi)[4]
Apogee altitude	39,687 kilometres (24,660 mi)[4]
Inclination	62.7 degrees[4]
Period	717.60 minutes[4]

Launch

Kosmos 606 was launched from Site 41/1 at Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Russian SSR.[3] A Molniya-M carrier rocket with a 2BL upper stage was used to perform the launch, which took place at 13:01 UTC on 2 November 1973.[3]

Orbit

The launch successfully placed the satellite into a molniya orbit. It subsequently received its Kosmos designation, and the international designator 1973-084A .[4] The United States Space Command assigned it the Satellite Catalog Number 6916.[4]

See also

• List of Kosmos satellites (501–750)
• List of R-7 launches (1970-1974)
• 1973 in spaceflight
• List of Oko satellites

References

1. Podvig, Pavel (2002). "History and the Current Status of the Russian Early-Warning System" (PDF). Science and Global Security. 10: 21–60. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.692.6127. doi:10.1080/08929880212328. ISSN 0892-9882. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-15.
2. "US-K (73D6)". Gunter's Space Page. 2012-03-08. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
3. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
4. McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 30 April 2012.