Kosmos 1409

Kosmos 1409 was a Soviet US-K missile early warning satellite which was launched in 1982 as part of the Soviet military's Oko programme. Kosmos 1409 replaced Kosmos 1217 as part of the Oko constellation of satellites and covered the plane 2 - 317° longitude of ascending node.

Mission

The satellite was designed to identify missile launches using optical telescopes and infrared sensors.

Launch

Kosmos 1409 was launched from Site 16/2 from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Soviet Union. A Molniya-M launch vehicle with a Blok 2BL upper stage was used to perform the launch, which took place at 06:23:11 UTC on 22 September 1982. The launch successfully placed the satellite into a Molniya orbit. It subsequently received its Kosmos designation, and the COSPAR International Designator 1982-095A. The United States Space Command assigned it the Satellite Catalog Number 13585.

Atmospheric entry

It reentered the Earth's atmosphere on 8 June 2009.