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Kosmos 268
Mission type	ABM radar target
COSPAR ID	1969-020A
SATCAT no.	03773
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	DS-P1-Yu
Manufacturer	Yuzhnoye
Launch mass	250 kilograms (550 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	5 March 1969, 13:04:55 UTC
Rocket	Kosmos-2I 63SM
Launch site	Kapustin Yar 86/4
End of mission
Decay date	9 May 1970
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	212 kilometres (132 mi)
Apogee altitude	2,063 kilometres (1,282 mi)
Inclination	48.4 degrees
Period	108 minutes

Kosmos 268 (Russian: Космос 268 meaning Cosmos 268), known before launch as DS-P1-Yu No.18, was a Soviet satellite which was used as a radar calibration target for tests of anti-ballistic missiles. It was a 250-kilogram (550 lb) spacecraft, which was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and launched in 1969 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.^[1]

Launch

Kosmos 268 was launched from Site 86/4 at Kapustin Yar,^[2] atop a Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket. The launch occurred on 5 March 1969 at 13:04:55 UTC, and resulted in Kosmos 268's successful deployment into low Earth orbit.^[3] Upon reaching orbit, it was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1969-020A.

Kosmos 268 was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 212 kilometres (132 mi), an apogee of 2,063 kilometres (1,282 mi), 48.4 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 108 minutes.^[1]^[4] It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 9 May 1970.^[4] It was the nineteenth of seventy nine DS-P1-Yu satellites to be launched,^[1] and the eighteenth of seventy two to successfully reach orbit.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Wade, Mark. "DS-P1-Yu". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 2 June 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
^ Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
^ ^a ^b McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
^ Krebs, Gunter. "DS-P1-Yu (11F618)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 13 August 2009.