Engineering:Kosmos 204

From HandWiki
Kosmos 204
Mission typeABM radar target
COSPAR ID1968-015A
SATCAT no.03139
Mission duration362 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeDS-P1-I
ManufacturerYuzhnoye
Launch mass400 kg[1]
Start of mission
Launch date5 March 1968, 18:28:00 GMT
RocketKosmos-2I 63SM
Launch sitePlesetsk Site 133/3
ContractorYuzhnoye
End of mission
Decay date2 March 1969
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric[2]
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude204 km
Apogee altitude844 km
Inclination70.0°
Period95.9 minutes
Epoch5 March 1968
 

Kosmos 204 (Russian: Космос 204 meaning Cosmos 204), also known as DS-P1-I No.3 was a satellite which was used as a radar target for anti-ballistic missile tests. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1968 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.[3] and had a mass of 400 kilograms (880 lb).[1]

It was launched aboard a Kosmos-2I 63SM rocket,[4] from Site 133/1 at Plesetsk. The launch occurred at 18:28:00 GMT on 5 March 1968.[5]

Kosmos 204 was placed into a low Earth orbit with a perigee of 204 kilometres (127 mi), an apogee of 844 kilometres (524 mi), an inclination of 70.0°, and an orbital period of 95.9 minutes.[2] It decayed from orbit on 2 March 1969.[6]

Kosmos 204 was the third of nineteen DS-P1-I satellites to be launched. Of these, all reached orbit successfully except the seventh, launched out of sequence.[7]

See also

  • 1968 in spaceflight

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Cosmos 204: Display 1968-015A". NASA. 27 February 2020. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1968-015A.  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Cosmos 204: Trajectory 1968-015A". NASA. 27 February 2020. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/displayTrajectory.action?id=1968-015A. 
  3. Wade, Mark. "DS-P1-I". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/craft/dsp1i.htm. 
  4. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. http://planet4589.org/space/log/launchlog.txt. 
  5. Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/kosmos2.htm. 
  6. McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. http://www.planet4589.org/space/log/satcat.txt. 
  7. Wade, Mark. "DS". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/project/ds.htm.