Kosmos 268
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name = Kosmos 268
| mission_type = ABM radar target
| operator =
| COSPAR_ID = 1969-020A
| SATCAT =
| mission_duration =
| spacecraft_type = DS-P1-Yu
| manufacturer = Yuzhnoye
| launch_mass = {{convert|250|kg}}
| launch_date = {{start-date|5 March 1969, 13:04:55|timezone=yes}} UTC
| launch_rocket = Kosmos-2I 63SM
| launch_site = Kapustin Yar 86/4
| decay_date = {{end-date|9 May 1970}}
| orbit_epoch =
| orbit_reference = Geocentric
| orbit_regime = Low Earth
| orbit_periapsis = {{convert|212|km}}
| orbit_apoapsis = {{convert|2063|km}}
| orbit_inclination = 48.4 degrees
| orbit_period = 108 minutes
| apsis = gee
}}
Kosmos 268 ({{langx|ru|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 {{convert|250|kg|adj=on}} spacecraft, which was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and launched in 1969 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.{{cite web|url=http://www.astronautix.com/craft/dsp1yu.htm|title=DS-P1-Yu|last=Wade|first=Mark|publisher=Encyclopedia Astronautica|access-date=13 August 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120602211924/http://www.astronautix.com/craft/dsp1yu.htm|archive-date=2 June 2012|df=dmy-all}}
Launch
Kosmos 268 was launched from Site 86/4 at Kapustin Yar,{{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=13 August 2009}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/kosmos2.htm|title=Kosmos 2|last=Wade|first=Mark|publisher=Encyclopedia Astronautica|access-date=13 August 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}} 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 {{convert|212|km}}, an apogee of {{convert|2063|km}}, 48.4 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 108 minutes. It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 9 May 1970.{{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=13 August 2009}} It was the nineteenth of seventy nine DS-P1-Yu satellites to be launched, and the eighteenth of seventy two to successfully reach orbit.{{cite web|url=http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/ds-p1-yu.htm|title=DS-P1-Yu (11F618)|first=Gunter|last=Krebs|publisher=Gunter's Space Page|access-date=13 August 2009}}
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See also
References
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{{Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik}}
{{Orbital launches in 1969}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kosmos 0268}}
Category:Spacecraft launched in 1969
Category:Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik program
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