| Mission type | Amateur radio |
|---|---|
| Operator | Aéro-Club de France AMSAT Rosaviakosmos |
| COSPAR ID | 1998-062C |
| SATCATno. | 25533 |
| Mission duration | 1-2 months |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Launch mass | 4 kilograms (8.8 lb)[1] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 25 October 1998, 04:14:57 (1998-10-25UTC04:14:57Z) UTC[2] |
| Rocket | Soyuz-U |
| Launch site | Baikonur1/5 |
| Deployed from | Mir |
| Deployment date | 10 November 1998, ~19:30 UTC[3] |
| End of mission | |
| Last contact | 11 December 1998 (1998-12-12) |
| Decay date | 11 January 1999 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee altitude | 339 kilometres (211 mi)[4] |
| Apogee altitude | 352 kilometres (219 mi)[4] |
| Inclination | 51.6 degrees[4] |
| Epoch | 24 November 1998 |
Sputnik 41 (Russian:Спутник 41,French:Spoutnik 41), also known asSputnik Jr 2 andRadio Sputnik 18 (RS-18),[1] was aFranco-Russianamateur radio satellite which was launched in 1998 to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of theAéro-Club de France, and the forty-first anniversary of the launch ofSputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite. A 4-kilogram (8.8 lb)[1] one-third scale model of Sputnik 1, Sputnik 41 was deployed from theMirspace station on 10 November 1998.[3]
Sputnik 41 was launched aboardProgress M-40 at 04:14 UTC on 25 October 1998, along with supplies for Mir and theZnamya-2.5 reflector experiment.[2][5] ASoyuz-U carrier rocket placed the spacecraft into orbit, flying fromSite 1/5 at theBaikonur Cosmodrome inKazakhstan: the same launch pad used by Sputnik 1.[2] Progress M-40 docked to Mir on 27 October,[5] and the satellite was transferred to the space station. At about 19:30 UTC on 10 November,[3] during anextra-vehicular activity, Sputnik 41 was deployed by cosmonautsGennady Padalka andSergei Avdeyev.[6]
On 24 November, a fortnight after deployment, Sputnik 41 was in alow Earth orbit with a perigee of 339 kilometres (211 mi), an apogee of 352 kilometres (219 mi), an inclination of 51.6 degrees, and a period of 91.44 minutes.[4] The satellite was given theInternational Designator 1998-062C and wascatalogued by theUnited States Space Command as 25533. Having ceased operations on 11 December 1998 after its batteries expired, Sputnik 41 decayed from orbit on 11 January 1999.[7]
Sputnik 41 was originally intended to be built aboard Mir, based on a satellite launched in October 1997 as a backup forSputnik 40. That spacecraft had been stored aboard the space station for a year after the successful deployment of Sputnik 40, and it was intended that it would be fitted with upgraded electronics and deployed. By the time of launch, the project had grown to involve a complete satellite, and the Sputnik 40 backup was never deployed.[1]
