Kosmos 311

Kosmos 311 (Russian: Космос 311 meaning Cosmos 311), known before launch as DS-P1-Yu #27, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1969 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme. It was a 325-kilogram (720 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 311 was launched from Site 133/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome,^[2] atop a Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket. The launch occurred on 24 November 1969 at 11:00:04 UTC, and resulted in the successful deployment of Kosmos 311 into low Earth orbit.^[3] Upon reaching orbit, it was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1969-102A.

Kosmos 311 was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 263 kilometres (163 mi), an apogee of 438 kilometres (272 mi), 71 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 91.5 minutes.^[1][4] It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 10 March 1970.^[4] It was the twenty-seventh of seventy nine DS-P1-Yu satellites to be launched,^[1] and the twenty-fifth of seventy two to successfully reach orbit.^[5]

See also [edit]

• 1969 in spaceflight

References [edit]

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