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Kosmos 553
Mission type	ABM radar target
COSPAR ID	1973-020A
SATCAT no.	06427
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	DS-P1-Yu
Manufacturer	Yuzhnoye
Launch mass	400 kilograms (880 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	12 April 1973, 11:49:55 UTC
Rocket	Kosmos-2I 63SM
Launch site	Plesetsk 133/1
End of mission
Decay date	11 November 1973
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	264 kilometres (164 mi)
Apogee altitude	470 kilometres (290 mi)
Inclination	70.9 degrees
Period	91.9 minutes

Kosmos 553 (Russian: Космос 553 meaning Cosmos 553), known before launch as DS-P1-Yu No.55, 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

Kosmos 553 was successfully launched into low Earth orbit at 11:49:55 UTC on 12 April 1973.^[2] The launch took place from Site 133/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome,^[3] and used a Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket.

Orbit

Upon reaching orbit, the satellite was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1973-020A.^[4] The North American Aerospace Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 06427.

Kosmos 553 was the sixty-first of seventy nine DS-P1-Yu satellites to be launched,^[1] and the fifty-fifth 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 470 kilometres (290 mi), 70.9 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 91.9 minutes.^[6] It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 11 November 1973.^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b Wade, Mark. "DS-P1-Yu". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 2 June 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
^ Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
^ "Cosmos 553". NSSDC Master Catalog. US National Space Science Data Center. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
^ Krebs, Gunter. "DS-P1-Yu (11F618)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
^ ^a ^b McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 31 August 2009.