Kosmos 242

{{Infobox spaceflight

| name = Kosmos 242

| mission_type = ABM radar target

| operator =

| COSPAR_ID = 1968-079A

| SATCAT =

| mission_duration =

| spacecraft_type = DS-P1-I

| manufacturer = Yuzhnoye

| launch_mass = {{convert|325|kg}}

| launch_date = {{start-date|20 September 1968, 14:39:59|timezone=yes}} UTC

| launch_rocket = Kosmos-2I 63SM

| launch_site = Plesetsk 133/1

| decay_date = {{end-date|13 November 1968}}

| orbit_epoch =

| orbit_reference = Geocentric

| orbit_regime = Low Earth

| orbit_periapsis = {{convert|272|km}}

| orbit_apoapsis = {{convert|406|km}}

| orbit_inclination = 71 degrees

| orbit_period = 91.3 minutes

| apsis = gee

}}

Kosmos 242 ({{langx|ru|Космос 242}} meaning Cosmos 242), also known as DS-P1-I No.4 was a satellite which was used as a radar target for anti-ballistic missile tests. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1968 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.{{cite web|url=http://www.astronautix.com/craft/dsp1i.htm|title=DS-P1-I|last=Wade|first=Mark|publisher=Encyclopedia Astronautica|access-date=28 May 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130070610/http://www.astronautix.com/craft/dsp1i.htm|archive-date=30 November 2009|df=dmy-all}}

It was launched aboard a Kosmos-2I 63SM rocket,{{cite web|url=http://planet4589.org/space/log/launchlog.txt|title=Launch Log|last=McDowell|first=Jonathan|author-link=Jonathan McDowell|publisher=Jonathan's Space Page|access-date=28 May 2009}} from Site 133/1 at Plesetsk. The launch occurred at 14:39:59 UTC on 20 September 1968.{{cite web|url=http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/kosmos2.htm|title=Kosmos 2|last=Wade|first=Mark|publisher=Encyclopedia Astronautica|access-date=28 May 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120618125001/http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/kosmos2.htm|archive-date=18 June 2012|df=dmy-all}}

Kosmos 242 was placed into a low Earth orbit with a perigee of {{convert|272|km}}, an apogee of {{convert|406|km}}, 71 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 91.3 minutes. It decayed from orbit on 13 November 1968.{{cite web|url=http://www.planet4589.org/space/log/satcat.txt|title=Satellite Catalog|last=McDowell|first=Jonathan|publisher=Jonathan's Space Page|access-date=28 May 2009}}

Kosmos 242 was the fourth of nineteen DS-P1-I satellites to be launched. Of these, all reached orbit successfully except the seventh.{{cite web|url=http://www.astronautix.com/project/ds.htm|title=DS|last=Wade|first=Mark|publisher=Encyclopedia Astronautica|access-date=28 May 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090331210314/http://www.astronautix.com/project/ds.htm|archive-date=31 March 2009|df=dmy-all}}