Sputnik 40

Sputnik 40

Mission type	Amateur radio
Operator	Aéro-Club de France AMSAT Rosaviakosmos
COSPAR ID	1997-058C
SATCAT no.	24958
Mission duration	1-2 months
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass	4 kilograms (8.8 lb)[1]
Start of mission
Launch date	5 October 1997, 15:08:57 (1997-10-05UTC15:08:57Z) UTC[2]
Rocket	Soyuz-U
Launch site	Baikonur 1/5
Deployed from	Mir
Deployment date	3 November 1997, 04:05 UTC[3]
End of mission
Last contact	29 December 1997 (1997-12-30)
Decay date	21 May 1998
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	376 kilometres (234 mi)[4]
Apogee altitude	382 kilometres (237 mi)[4]
Inclination	51.6 degrees[4]
Epoch	4 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

• 1997 in spaceflight

References

1. Krebs, Gunter. "Sputnik 40, 41, 99 (RS 17, 18, 19)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
2. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
3. McDowell, Jonathan (5 November 1997). "Issue 339". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
4. 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.