Kosmos 2440 (russian: Космос 2440 meaning ''Cosmos 2440'') is a Russian

US-KMO US-KMO (russian: УС-КМО), an abbreviation for Upravlyaemy Sputnik - Kontinenty Morya Okeany (russian: Управляемый Спутник - Континенты Моря Океаны) meaning ''Controllable Satellite - Continents, Oceans, Se ...

missile

early warning satellite An early warning satellite is a satellite designed to rapidly detect ballistic missile launches and thus enable defensive military action. To do this, these satellites use infrared detectors that identify the missile thanks to the heat given off ...

which was launched in 2008 as part of the

Russian Space Forces The Russian Space Forces ( rus, Космические войска России, Kosmicheskie voyska Rossii, KV) are a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces, that provides aerospace warning, air and space sovereignty, and other related protect ...

Oko OKO ( rus, ОКО, r=, literally means eye, also an abbreviation for Ob'yedinonnyye Kristallom Osnovaniya ( rus, Oбъединённые Кристаллом Oснования, r=, literally means Foundations Bound by a Crystal)) is a complex o ...

programme. The satellite is designed to identify missile launches using

infrared telescope An infrared telescope is a telescope that uses infrared light to detect celestial bodies. Infrared light is one of several types of radiation present in the electromagnetic spectrum. All celestial objects with a temperature above absolute zero ...

s. It spent its two-year operational life at 80E giving early warning coverage of Russia, China, North Korea, the Middle East and some of Europe. Kosmos 2440 was launched from Site 81/24 at

Baikonur Cosmodrome The Baikonur Cosmodrome ( kk, Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы, translit=Baiqoñyr ğaryş ailağy, ; russian: Космодром Байконур, translit=Kosmodrom Baykonur, ) is a spaceport in an area of southern Kazakhstan leased to R ...

in Kazakhstan. A

Proton-K The Proton-K, also designated Proton 8K82K after its GRAU index or SL-12 after its model number, 8K82K, was a Russian, previously Soviet, carrier rocket derived from the earlier Proton. It was built by Khrunichev, and launched from sites 81 and ...

carrier rocket with a DM-2 upper stage was used to perform the launch, which took place at 23:59 UTC on 26 June 2008. The launch successfully placed the satellite into

geostationary orbit A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit in altitud ...

. It subsequently received its Kosmos designation, and the

international designator The International Designator, also known as COSPAR ID, is an international identifier assigned to artificial objects in space. It consists of the launch year, a three-digit incrementing launch number of that year and up to a three-letter code repr ...

2008-033A. The

United States Space Command United States Space Command (USSPACECOM or SPACECOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Department of Defense, responsible for military operations in outer space, specifically all operations 100 kilometers (62 miles) and grea ...

assigned it the

Satellite Catalog Number The Satellite Catalog Number (SATCAT, also known as NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense) Catalog Number, NORAD ID, USSPACECOM object number or simply catalog number, among similar variants) is a sequential nine-digit number assigned by the Un ...

33108. When the satellite was launched US-KMO satellite

Kosmos 2379 Kosmos 2379 (russian: Космос 2379 meaning ''Cosmos 2379'') is a Russian US-KMO missile early warning satellite which was launched in 2001 as part of the Russian Space Forces' Oko programme. The satellite is designed to identify missile launc ...

was also operational although this failed late 2009/early 2010 after an 8-year life. Kosmos 2440 itself started drifting off station in February 2010 giving an operational life of less than two years. Kosmos 2440 was replaced by

Kosmos 2479 Kosmos 2479 (russian: Космос 2479 meaning ''Cosmos 2479'') is a Russian US-KMO missile early warning satellite which was launched in 2012 as part of the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces' Oko programme. The satellite is designed to identify ...

which was launched in March 2012.

References

{{Oko Spacecraft launched in 2008 Spacecraft launched by Proton rockets Kosmos satellites Oko

See also

References