Kosmos 259

Kosmos 259
Mission type Ionospheric
COSPAR ID 1968-113A
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type DS-U2-I
Manufacturer Yuzhnoye
Launch mass 325 kilograms (717 lb)[1]
Start of mission
Launch date 14 December 1968, 05:09:54 (1968-12-14UTC05:09:54Z) UTC
Rocket Kosmos-2I 63SM
Launch site Kapustin Yar 86/4
End of mission
Decay date 5 May 1969 (1969-05-06)
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Perigee 212 kilometres (132 mi)
Apogee 1,210 kilometres (750 mi)
Inclination 48.4 degrees
Period 99 minutes

Kosmos 259 (Russian: Космос 259 meaning Cosmos 259), also known as DS-U2-I No.3, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1968 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme. It was a 325-kilogram (717 lb) spacecraft,[1] which was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and was used to study the effects on radio waves of passing through the ionosphere.[1]

A Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket was used to launch Kosmos 259 into low Earth orbit. The launch took place from Site 86/4 at Kapustin Yar.[2] The launch occurred at 05:09:54 UTC on 14 December 1968, and resulted in the successful insertion of the satellite into orbit.[3] Upon reaching orbit, the satellite was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1968-113A.[4] The North American Aerospace Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 03612.

Kosmos 259 was the third and final DS-U2-I satellite to be launched.[1][5] It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 212 kilometres (132 mi), an apogee of 1,210 kilometres (750 mi), 48.4 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 99 minutes.[6] On 5 May 1969, it decayed from orbit and reentered the atmosphere.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Wade, Mark. "DS-U2-I". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
  2. ↑ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
  3. ↑ Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
  4. ↑ "Cosmos 259". NSSDC Master Catalog. US National Space Science Data Center. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
  5. ↑ Krebs, Gunter. "DS-U2-I". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
  6. 1 2 McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 2009-12-23.


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