Mission type Communication COSPAR ID 1993-036A Spacecraft type Strela-2M Launch date 16 June 1993 Inclination 74° Rocket Kosmos-3M | Operator VKS SATCAT no. 22675 Manufacturer Reshetnev Inclination 74° Period 1.7 hours Launch site Plesetsk Cosmodrome | |
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Similar Iridium 33, Strela, Cerise, Kosmos 954, BLITS | ||
Kosmos-2251, (Russian: Космос-2251 meaning Cosmos 2251), was a Russian Strela-2M communications satellite. It was launched into Low Earth orbit from Site 132/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome at 04:17 UTC on 16 June 1993, by a Kosmos-3M carrier rocket. It had no propulsion system.
Destruction
At 16:56 UTC on 10 February 2009, it collided with Iridium 33, an Iridium satellite, in the first major collision of two satellites in Earth orbit. The Iridium satellite, which was operational at the time of the collision, was destroyed, as was Kosmos-2251. NASA reported that a large amount of debris was produced by the collision.
References
Kosmos 2251 Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA