Kosmos 204

Kosmos 204
Mission typeABM radar target
COSPAR ID1968-015A
SATCAT no.03139
Mission duration362 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeDS-P1-I
ManufacturerYuzhnoye
Launch mass400 kg
Start of mission
Launch date5 March 1968, 18:28:00 GMT
RocketKosmos-2I 63SM
Launch sitePlesetsk Site 133/3
ContractorYuzhnoye
End of mission
Decay date2 March 1969
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude204 km
Apogee altitude844 km
Inclination70.0°
Period95.9 minutes
Epoch5 March 1968

Kosmos 204 (Russian: Космос 204 meaning Cosmos 204), also known as DS-P1-I No.3 was a satellite which was used as a radar target for anti-ballistic missile tests. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1968 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme. and had a mass of 400 kilograms (880 lb).

It was launched aboard a Kosmos-2I 63SM rocket, from Site 133/1 at Plesetsk. The launch occurred at 18:28:00 GMT on 5 March 1968.

Kosmos 204 was placed into a low Earth orbit with a perigee of 204 kilometres (127 mi), an apogee of 844 kilometres (524 mi), an inclination of 70.0°, and an orbital period of 95.9 minutes. It decayed from orbit on 2 March 1969.

Kosmos 204 was the third of nineteen DS-P1-I satellites to be launched. Of these, all reached orbit successfully except the seventh, launched out of sequence.