Kosmos 2342

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title: "Kosmos 2342" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["kosmos-satellites", "spacecraft-launched-in-1997", "oko", "spacecraft-launched-by-molniya-m-rockets"] description: "Russian military early warning satellite" topic_path: "general/kosmos-satellites" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosmos_2342" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Russian military early warning satellite ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox spaceflight"]

Field	Value
name	Kosmos 2342
mission_type	Early warning
COSPAR_ID	1997-022A
SATCAT	24800
mission_duration	4 years
spacecraft_type	US-K
launch_mass	1900 kg
launch_date	UTC
launch_rocket	Molniya-M/2BL
launch_site	Plesetsk Cosmodrome
deactivated	2001/2002
orbit_reference	Geocentric
orbit_regime	Molniya
orbit_periapsis	565 km
orbit_apoapsis	39791 km
orbit_inclination	62.8 degrees
orbit_period	717.80 minutes
apsis	gee
::

| name = Kosmos 2342 | mission_type = Early warning | operator = | COSPAR_ID = 1997-022A | SATCAT = 24800 | mission_duration = 4 years

| spacecraft_type = US-K | manufacturer = | launch_mass = 1900 kg

| launch_date = UTC | launch_rocket = Molniya-M/2BL | launch_site = Plesetsk Cosmodrome | entered_service =

| disposal_type = | deactivated = 2001/2002 | decay_date =

| orbit_epoch = | orbit_reference = Geocentric | orbit_regime = Molniya | orbit_periapsis = 565 km | orbit_apoapsis = 39791 km | orbit_inclination = 62.8 degrees | orbit_period = 717.80 minutes | orbit_slot = | apsis = gee

Kosmos 2342 ( meaning Cosmos 2342) was a Russian US-K missile early warning satellite which was launched in 1997 as part of the Russian Space Forces' Oko programme. The satellite was designed to identify missile launches using optical telescopes and infrared sensors.

Kosmos 2342 was launched from Site 43/4 at Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia. A Molniya-M carrier rocket with a 2BL upper stage was used to perform the launch, which took place at 00:33 UTC on 14 May 1997. The launch successfully placed the satellite into a molniya orbit. It subsequently received its Kosmos designation, and the international designator 1997-022A. The United States Space Command assigned it the Satellite Catalog Number 24800. The satellite (along with Kosmos 2340, Kosmos 2351, and Kosmos 2368) were lost after a 2001 fire destroyed the ground control building located at the Serpukhov-15 military base resulting in the loss of orbital control.

References

|first=Pavel |last=Podvig |year=2002 |title=History and the Current Status of the Russian Early-Warning System |journal=Science and Global Security |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=21–60 |issn=0892-9882 |doi=10.1080/08929880212328 |bibcode=2002S&GS...10...21P |url=http://iis-db.stanford.edu/pubs/20734/Podvig-S&GS.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315024323/http://iis-db.stanford.edu/pubs/20734/Podvig-S%26GS.pdf |archive-date=2012-03-15 |citeseerx=10.1.1.692.6127 |s2cid=122901563

References

1. Paleologue, A. (2005). "Early Warning Satellites in Russia: What past, what state today, what future?". [[SPIE]].
2. (2012-04-20). "Cosmos 2342". National Space Science Data Centre.
3. (2012-03-08). "US-K (73D6)". Gunter's Space Page.
4. McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page.
5. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::