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

References

  1. 1 2 3 Wade, Mark. "DS-P1-I". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 30 November 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
  2. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
  3. Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
  4. McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
  5. Wade, Mark. "DS". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 31 March 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2009.