Kosmos 668

Kosmos 668 (Russian: Космос 668 meaning Cosmos 668), also known as DS-P1-Yu No.74, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1974 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]

Kosmos 668
Mission typeABM radar target
COSPAR ID1974-058A
SATCAT no.07385
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeDS-P1-Yu
ManufacturerYuzhnoye
Launch mass400 kilograms (880 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date25 July 1974, 12:00 (1974-07-25UTC12Z) UTC
RocketKosmos-2I 63SM
Launch sitePlesetsk 133/1
End of mission
Decay date21 February 1975 (1975-02-22)
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude266 kilometres (165 mi)
Apogee altitude475 kilometres (295 mi)
Inclination70.9 degrees
Period92 minutes
 

The launch of Kosmos 668 took place from Site 133/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome,[2] and used a Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket. It occurred at 12:00 UTC on 25 July 1974, and resulted in the satellite successfully reaching low Earth orbit.[3] Upon reaching orbit, the satellite was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1974-058A.[4] The North American Aerospace Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 07385.

Kosmos 668 was the seventy-first of seventy nine DS-P1-Yu satellites to be launched,[1] and the sixty-fourth of seventy two to successfully reach orbit.[5] It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 266 kilometres (165 mi), an apogee of 475 kilometres (295 mi), 70.9 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 92 minutes.[6] It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 21 February 1975.[6]

See also

References
  1. Wade, Mark. "DS-P1-Yu". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 18 May 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  2. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  3. Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  4. "Cosmos 668". NSSDC Master Catalog. US National Space Science Data Center. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  5. Krebs, Gunter. "DS-P1-Yu (11F618)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  6. McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 1 September 2009.


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