Kosmos 686 (Russian: Космос 686 meaning Cosmos 686), also known as DS-P1-Yu No.72, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1974 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]

Kosmos 686
Mission typeABM radar target
COSPAR ID1974-074A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.07447Edit this on Wikidata
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeDS-P1-Yu
ManufacturerYuzhnoye
Launch mass400 kilograms (880 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date26 September 1974, 16:34:56 (1974-09-26UTC16:34:56Z) UTC
RocketKosmos-2I 63SM
Launch sitePlesetsk 133/1
End of mission
Decay date1 May 1975 (1975-06)
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude266 kilometres (165 mi)
Apogee altitude461 kilometres (286 mi)
Inclination70.9 degrees
Period91.8 minutes

A Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket was used to launch Kosmos 686 from Site 133/1 of the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.[2] The launch occurred at 16:34:56 UTC on 26 September 1974, and resulted in the satellite successfully reaching low Earth orbit.[3] Upon reaching orbit, the satellite was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1974-074A.[4] The North American Aerospace Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 07447.

Kosmos 686 was the seventy-second of seventy nine DS-P1-Yu satellites to be launched,[1] and the sixty-fifth of seventy two to successfully reach orbit.[5] It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 266 kilometres (165 mi), an apogee of 461 kilometres (286 mi), 70.9 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 91.8 minutes.[6] It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 1 May 1975.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Wade, Mark. "DS-P1-Yu". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 2 June 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  2. ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  3. ^ Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  4. ^ "Cosmos 686". NSSDC Master Catalog. US National Space Science Data Center. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  5. ^ Krebs, Gunter. "DS-P1-Yu (11F618)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  6. ^ a b McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 1 September 2009.