Kosmos 233

Kosmos 233

Mission type	ABM radar target
COSPAR ID	1968-061A
SATCAT no.	03326
Mission duration	204 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	DS-P1-Yu
Manufacturer	Yuzhnoye
Launch mass	325 kg
Start of mission
Launch date	18 July 1968, 19:59:50 GMT
Rocket	Kosmos-2I 63SM
Launch site	Plesetsk, Site 133/3
Contractor	Yuzhnoye
End of mission
Decay date	7 February 1969
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	198 km
Apogee altitude	1514 km
Inclination	82.0°
Period	102.1 minutes
Epoch	18 July 1968

Kosmos 233 (Russian: Космос 233 meaning Cosmos 233), known before launch as DS-P1-Yu No.15, was a Soviet satellite which was used as a radar calibration target for tests of anti-ballistic missiles. It was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and launched in 1968 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.^[1] It had a mass of 325 kilograms (717 lb).^[1]

Kosmos 233 was launched from Site 133/3 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome,^[2] atop a Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket. The launch occurred on 18 July 1968 at 19:59:50 UTC, and resulted in Kosmos 233's successful deployment into low Earth orbit.^[3] Upon reaching orbit, it was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1968-061A.

Kosmos 233 was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 198 kilometres (123 mi), an apogee of 1,514 kilometres (941 mi), an inclination of 82.0°, and an orbital period of 102.1 minutes.^[1][4] It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 7 February 1969.^[4] It was the fifteenth of seventy nine DS-P1-Yu satellites to be launched,^[1] and the fourteenth of seventy two to successfully reach orbit.^[5]

See also

• 1968 in spaceflight

References

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