Kosmos 1402

Kosmos 1402

Mission type	Ocean reconnaissance
COSPAR ID	1982-084A
SATCAT №	13441
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	US-A
Start of mission
Launch date	30 August 1982, 10:06 UTC[1]
Rocket	Tsyklon-2
Launch site	Baikonur 90
End of mission
Disposal	Decommissioned
Decay date	23 January 1983 Reactor: 7 February 1983
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee	251 kilometres (156 mi)
Apogee	263 kilometres (163 mi)
Inclination	65 degrees
Period	89.64 minutes
Epoch	29 September 1982[2]

Kosmos 1402 (Russian: Космос 1402) was a Soviet spy satellite that failed to achieve its correct orbit. Normally, such satellites burn up harmlessly in the Earth's atmosphere upon re-entry. However, Kosmos 1402 was nuclear powered. A similar satellite, Kosmos 954, crashed in Canada's Northwest Territories in 1978.

Kosmos 1402 was launched on August 30, 1982. Normally, such satellites separate from their reactor core upon completion of the mission. The core is then boosted into a "parking orbit". However, the core of 1402 did not boost itself into parking orbit. Kosmos 1402 reentered the Earth's atmosphere on January 23, 1983, hundreds of miles south of the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, leaving no known debris. The core re-entered on February 7, 1983, landing in the South Atlantic Ocean.

References

1. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
2. McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 9 November 2013.

External links

• Cosmos 1402 Is Out of Control
• Satellite's Fuel Core Falls 'Harmlessly'