| Mission type | Amateur radio |
|---|---|
| Operator | Aéro-Club de France AMSAT Rosaviakosmos |
| COSPAR ID | 1997-058C |
| SATCATno. | 24958 |
| Mission duration | 1-2 months |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Launch mass | 4 kilograms (8.8 lb)[1] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 5 October 1997, 15:08:57 (1997-10-05UTC15:08:57Z) UTC[2] |
| Rocket | Soyuz-U |
| Launch site | Baikonur1/5 |
| Deployed from | Mir |
| Deployment date | 3 November 1997, 04:05 UTC[3] |
| End of mission | |
| Last contact | 29 December 1997 (1997-12-30) |
| Decay date | 21 May 1998 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee altitude | 376 kilometres (234 mi)[4] |
| Apogee altitude | 382 kilometres (237 mi)[4] |
| Inclination | 51.6 degrees[4] |
| Epoch | 4 November 1997 |
Sputnik 40 (Russian:Спутник 40,French:Spoutnik 40), also known asSputnik Jr,[5]PS-2[3] andRadio Sputnik 17 (RS-17),[1] was aFranco-Russianamateur radio satellite which was launched in 1997 to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the launch ofSputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite.[6] A 4-kilogram (8.8 lb)[1] one-third scale model of Sputnik 1,[7] Sputnik 40 was deployed from theMirspace station on 3 November 1997.[3] Built by students, the spacecraft was constructed at thePolytechnic Laboratory of Nalchik inKabardino-Balkaria, whilst its transmitter was assembled byJules Reydellet College inRéunion with technical support fromAMSAT-France.
Sputnik 40 was launched, along with a backup spacecraft and theX-Mir inspection satellite, aboardProgress M-36 at 15:08 UTC on 5 October 1997.[2] ASoyuz-U carrier rocket placed the spacecraft into orbit, flying from1/5 at theBaikonur Cosmodrome inKazakhstan: the same launch pad used by Sputnik 1.[2] Progress M-36 docked to Mir on 8 October,[8] and the satellites were transferred to the space station. At 04:05 UTC on 3 November,[3] during anextra-vehicular activity, Sputnik 40 was deployed by cosmonautsAnatoly Solovyev andPavel Vinogradov.[9]
On 4 November, the day after it was deployed, Sputnik 40 was in alow Earth orbit with a perigee of 376 kilometres (234 mi), an apogee of 382 kilometres (237 mi), an inclination of 51.6 degrees, and a period of 92.13 minutes.[4] The satellite was given theInternational Designator 1997-058C, and wascatalogued by theUnited States Space Command as 24958.[10] It ceased operations on 29 December 1997 when its batteries expired,[11][12] and subsequently decayed from orbit on 21 May 1998.[4] The backup satellite remained aboard Mir, and was destroyed when Mir wasdeorbited on 23 March 2001.[1]
