Sputnik 40
Mission typeAmateur radio
OperatorAéro-Club de France
AMSAT
Rosaviakosmos
COSPAR ID1997-058C Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.24958Edit this on Wikidata
Mission duration1-2 months
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass4 kilograms (8.8 lb)[1]
Start of mission
Launch date5 October 1997, 15:08:57 (1997-10-05UTC15:08:57Z) UTC[2]
RocketSoyuz-U
Launch siteBaikonur 1/5
Deployed fromMir
Deployment date3 November 1997, 04:05 UTC[3]
End of mission
Last contact29 December 1997 (1997-12-30)
Decay date21 May 1998
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude376 kilometres (234 mi)[4]
Apogee altitude382 kilometres (237 mi)[4]
Inclination51.6 degrees[4]
Epoch4 November 1997
 

Sputnik 40 (Russian: Спутник 40, French: Spoutnik 40), also known as Sputnik Jr,[5] PS-2[3] and Radio Sputnik 17 (RS-17),[1] was a Franco-Russian amateur radio satellite which was launched in 1997 to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite.[6] A 4-kilogram (8.8 lb)[1] one-third scale model of Sputnik 1,[7] Sputnik 40 was deployed from the Mir space station on 3 November 1997.[3] Built by students, the spacecraft was constructed at the Polytechnic Laboratory of Nalchik in Kabardino-Balkaria, whilst its transmitter was assembled by Jules Reydellet College in Réunion with technical support from AMSAT-France.

Launch

Sputnik 40 was launched, along with a backup spacecraft and the X-Mir inspection satellite, aboard Progress M-36 at 15:08 UTC on 5 October 1997.[2] A Soyuz-U carrier rocket placed the spacecraft into orbit, flying from 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan: the same launch pad used by Sputnik 1.[2] Progress M-36 docked to Mir on 8 October,[8] and the satellites were transferred to the space station. At 04:05 UTC on 3 November,[3] during an extra-vehicular activity, Sputnik 40 was deployed by cosmonauts Anatoly Solovyev and Pavel Vinogradov.[9]

Orbit

On 4 November, the day after it was deployed, Sputnik 40 was in a low Earth orbit with a perigee of 376 kilometres (234 mi), an apogee of 382 kilometres (237 mi), an inclination of 51.6 degrees, and a period of 92.13 minutes.[4] The satellite was given the International Designator 1997-058C, and was catalogued by the United States Space Command as 24958.[10] It ceased operations on 29 December 1997 when its batteries expired,[11][12] and subsequently decayed from orbit on 21 May 1998.[4] The backup satellite remained aboard Mir, and was destroyed when Mir was deorbited on 23 March 2001.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Krebs, Gunter. "Sputnik 40, 41, 99 (RS 17, 18, 19)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  2. ^ a b c McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d McDowell, Jonathan (5 November 1997). "Issue 339". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d e McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  5. ^ "Sputnik Jr". N2YO. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  6. ^ "Spoutnik 40 (RS-17)". AMSAT-France. 12 June 2006. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  7. ^ Wade, Mark. "PS Model". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 12 June 2002. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  8. ^ Wade, Mark. "Progress-M". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 10 July 2009. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  9. ^ Wade, Mark. "Mir". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 23 December 2008. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  10. ^ "SPACEWARN Activities, SPX-529". NASA. 1 December 1997. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  11. ^ "Sputnik: First Artificial Satellite". 30 August 1997. Archived from the original on 5 December 2006.
  12. ^ "Tiny Beeping Model Tossed From Station". Space Today Online. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
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