Engineering:Kosmos 615

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Short description: Soviet military satellite
Kosmos 615
Mission typeABM radar target
COSPAR ID1973-099A
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeDS-P1-I
ManufacturerYuzhnoye
Launch mass400 kilograms (880 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date13 December 1973, 11:10:03 (1973-12-13UTC11:10:03Z) UTC
RocketKosmos-2I 63SM
Launch sitePlesetsk 133/1
End of mission
Decay date17 December 1975 (1975-12-18)
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude270 kilometres (170 mi)
Apogee altitude834 kilometres (518 mi)
Inclination71 degrees
Period95.7 minutes
 

Kosmos 615 (Russian: Космос 615 meaning Cosmos 615), also known as DS-P1-I No. 13, was a satellite which was used as a radar target for anti-ballistic missile tests. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1973 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.[1]

Launch

It was launched aboard a Kosmos-2I 63SM rocket,[2] from Site 133/1 at Plesetsk. The launch occurred at 11:10:03 UTC on 13 December 1973.[3]

Orbit

Kosmos 615 was placed into a low Earth orbit with a perigee of 270 kilometres (170 mi), an apogee of 834 kilometres (518 mi), 71 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 95.7 minutes.[1] It decayed from orbit on 17 December 1975.[4]

Kosmos 615 was the thirteenth of nineteen DS-P1-I satellites to be launched.[1] Of these, all reached orbit successfully except the seventh.[5]

See also

  • 1973 in spaceflight

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Wade, Mark. "DS-P1-I". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/craft/dsp1i.htm. 
  2. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. http://planet4589.org/space/log/launchlog.txt. 
  3. Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/kosmos2.htm. 
  4. McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. http://www.planet4589.org/space/log/satcat.txt. 
  5. Wade, Mark. "DS". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/project/ds.htm.