Engineering:Kosmos 394

From HandWiki
Kosmos 394
Mission typeTechnology
COSPAR ID1971-010A
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeDS-P1-M
ManufacturerYuzhnoye
Launch mass650 kilograms (1,430 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date9 February 1971, 18:48:48 (1971-02-09UTC18:48:48Z) UTC
RocketKosmos-3M
Launch sitePlesetsk 132/1
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude522 kilometres (324 mi)
Apogee altitude552 kilometres (343 mi)
Inclination65.8 degrees
Period95.4 minutes
 

Kosmos 394 (Russian: Космос 394 meaning Cosmos 394), also known as DS-P1-M No.2 is a satellite which was used to demonstrate technology for future satellites which would be used as targets for tests of anti-satellite weapons. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1971 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.[1] Following the completion of testing it was intercepted and destroyed by Kosmos 397 on 25 February.[2]

Launch

It was launched aboard a Kosmos-3M carrier rocket,[3] from Site 132/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. The launch occurred at 18:48:48 UTC on 9 February 1971.[4]

Orbit

Kosmos 394 was placed into a low Earth orbit with a perigee of 522 kilometres (324 mi), an apogee of 552 kilometres (343 mi), 65.8 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 95.4 minutes.[1] As of 2009, debris from its destruction is still in orbit.[5]

Kosmos 394 was the second of the five original DS-P1-M satellites to be launched, and the first to successfully reach orbit.[1] The three subsequent launches were all successful, before the satellite was replaced with a derivative, Lira.[6] DS-P1-M and Lira satellites were used as targets for the Istrebitel Sputnikov programme.

See also

  • 1971 in spaceflight

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Wade, Mark. "DS-P1-M". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/craft/dsp1m.htm. 
  2. Wade, Mark. "IS-A". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/craft/isa.htm. 
  3. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. http://planet4589.org/space/log/launchlog.txt. 
  4. Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 3". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/kosmos3.htm. 
  5. McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. http://www.planet4589.org/space/log/satcat.txt. 
  6. Wade, Mark. "DS". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/project/ds.htm.