Kosmos 2499 (

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 ...

2014-028E, catalogue number 39765) was a Russian

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...

orbiting the Earth, before breaking up on January 4, 2023.

Mission

The satellite was launched on May 23, 2014, from

Plesetsk Plesetsk (russian: Плесе́цк) is an urban locality (a work settlement) and the administrative center of Plesetsky District, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, situated about northeast of Moscow and south of Arkhangelsk. Municipally, it is t ...

, Russia on a

Rokot Rokot (russian: Рокот meaning ''Rumble'' or ''Boom''), also transliterated Rockot, was a Russian space launch vehicle that was capable of launching a payload of into a Earth orbit with 63° inclination. It was based on the UR-100N (SS- ...

Briz-KM The Briz-K, Briz-KM and Briz-M (russian: Бриз-К, КM and M meaning ''Breeze-K, KM and M'') are Russian liquid-propellant rocket orbit insertion upper stages manufactured by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and used on ...

launch vehicle along with 3 Rodnik-S satellites. Following launch the spacecraft was provisionally described by the

NASA Orbital Debris Program Office The NASA Orbital Debris Program Office is located at the Johnson Space Center and is the lead NASA center for orbital debris research. It is recognized world-wide for its leadership in addressing orbital debris issues. The NASA Orbital Debris Progr ...

as Object E until its identity was confirmed.

USSPACECOM 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 ...

tracked it under

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 ...

39765. Some reports have speculated, based on its unusual powered maneuvers, that it may be an experimental

anti-satellite weapon Anti-satellite weapons (ASAT) are space weapons designed to incapacitate or destroy satellites for strategic or tactical purposes. Several nations possess operational ASAT systems. Although no ASAT system has been utilised in warfare, a few ...

, satellite maintenance vehicle, or collector of space debris.

Chatham House Chatham House, also known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs, is an independent policy institute headquartered in London. Its stated mission is to provide commentary on world events and offer solutions to global challenges. It is ...

research director and space security expert Patricia Lewis stated that "whatever it is, bject 2014-028Elooks experimental." According to an article published on the official

Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT; russian: Московский Физико-Технический институт, also known as PhysTech), is a public research university located in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It prepares speciali ...

website, congratulating the developers on the successful launch and deployment, the satellite is designed to test experimental

plasma propulsion engine A plasma propulsion engine is a type of electric propulsion that generates thrust from a quasi-neutral plasma. This is in contrast with ion thruster engines, which generate thrust through extracting an ion current from the plasma source, which ...

ion thrusters An ion thruster, ion drive, or ion engine is a form of electric propulsion used for spacecraft propulsion. It creates thrust by accelerating ions using electricity. An ion thruster ionizes a neutral gas by extracting some electrons out o ...

, designed by the JSC Reshetnev Company and the

Keldysh Research Center The State Scientific Centre Keldysh Research Center (russian: Центр Келдыша) is a research institute in Moscow, Russia. It is based at 8 Onezhskaya Street (:ru:Онежская улица (Москва), street article in Russian W ...

. The article states that the engines are part of a new generation of

Hall effect thruster In spacecraft propulsion, a Hall-effect thruster (HET) is a type of ion thruster in which the propellant is accelerated by an electric field. Hall-effect thrusters (based on the discovery by Edwin Hall) are sometimes referred to as Hall thruster ...

s and are designed to be able to shift a spacecraft on an east-west and north-south axis using a fraction of the energy required by current propulsion systems. Russian stationary plasma thrusters

Post-mission

In December 2021 USSPACECOM catalogued 18

debris Debris (, ) is rubble, wreckage, ruins, litter and discarded garbage/refuse/trash, scattered remains of something destroyed, or, as in geology, large rock fragments left by a melting glacier, etc. Depending on context, ''debris'' can refer to ...

associated with Kosmos 2499. On February 6, 2023, US Space Command confirmed that the breakup of Kosmos 2499 had occurred on January 4, 2023, at 03:57 UTC. They catalogued 85 associated pieces, orbiting at altitude.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kosmos 2499 Kosmos satellites Spacecraft launched in 2014 2014 in Russia

Mission

Post-mission

See also

References

External links