NEXT SPACEFLIGHT

Status

Success

Cosmos 557

Launch Time
Fri May 11, 1973 00:20 UTC

Rocket

Proton-K
RVSN USSR
Status: Retired
Liftoff Thrust: 9,469 kN
Payload to LEO: 20,100 kg
Payload to GTO: 0 kg
Stages: 3
Strap-ons: 0
Rocket Height: 56.14 m
Fairing Diameter: 4.15 m
Fairing Height: 16.12 m

Mission Details

Cosmos 557

Kosmos 557 (Russian: Космос 557 meaning Cosmos 557) was the designation given to DOS-3, the third space station in the Salyut program. It was originally intended to be launched as Salyut-3, but due to its failure to achieve orbit on May 11, 1973, three days before the launch of Skylab, it was renamed Kosmos-557.

Due to errors in the flight control system while out of the range of ground control, the station fired its attitude thruster until it consumed all of its attitude control fuel and became uncontrollable before raising its orbit to the desired altitude. Since the spacecraft was already in orbit and had been registered by Western radar, the Soviets disguised the launch as "Kosmos 557" and quietly allowed it to reenter Earth's atmosphere and burn up a week later. It was revealed to have been a Salyut station only much later.

Payloads: 1
Total Mass: 19,400.0 kg
Low Earth Orbit

Location

Site 81/23, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

Stats

1973

27th orbital launch attempt

Proton-K

36th mission
3rd mission of 1973
23rd successful mission
3rd consecutive successful mission