Kosmos 558

Kosmos 558
Mission typeABM radar target
COSPAR ID1973-029A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.06645Edit this on Wikidata
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeDS-P1-Yu
ManufacturerYuzhnoye
Launch mass400 kilograms (880 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date17 May 1973, 13:19:58 (1973-05-17UTC13:19:58Z) UTC
RocketKosmos-2I 63SM
Launch sitePlesetsk 133/1
End of mission
Decay date22 December 1973 (1973-12-23)
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude264 kilometres (164 mi)
Apogee altitude477 kilometres (296 mi)
Inclination70.9 degrees
Period92 minutes

Kosmos 558 (Russian: Космос 558 meaning Cosmos 558), known before launch as DS-P1-Yu No.65, was a Soviet satellite, which was launched in 1973 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]

Launch

[edit]

Kosmos 558 was successfully launched into low Earth orbit at 13:19:58 UTC on 17 May 1973.[2] The launch took place from Site 133/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome,[3] and used a Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket.

Orbit

[edit]

Upon reaching orbit, the satellite was assigned its Kosmos designation and received the International Designator 1973-029A.[4] The North American Aerospace Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 06645.

Kosmos 558 was the sixty-second of seventy-nine DS-P1-Yu satellites to be launched,[1] and the fifty-sixth of seventy-two to successfully reach orbit.[5] It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 264 kilometres (164 mi), an apogee of 477 kilometres (296 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 22 December 1973.[6]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Wade, Mark. "DS-P1-Yu". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 2 June 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  2. ^ Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  3. ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  4. ^ "Cosmos 558". NSSDC Master Catalog. US National Space Science Data Center. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  5. ^ Krebs, Gunter. "DS-P1-Yu (11F618)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  6. ^ a b McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 31 August 2009.