| Kosmos 394 | |
| Mission Type: | Technology |
| Cospar Id: | 1971-010A |
| Spacecraft Type: | DS-P1-M |
| Manufacturer: | Yuzhnoye |
| Launch Date: | UTC |
| Launch Rocket: | Kosmos-3M |
| Launch Site: | Plesetsk 132/1 |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric |
| Orbit Regime: | Low Earth |
| Orbit Inclination: | 65.8 degrees |
| Orbit Period: | 95.4 minutes |
| Apsis: | gee |
Kosmos 394 (Russian: Космос 394 meaning Cosmos 394), also known as DS-P1-M No.2 is a satellite which was used to demonstrate technology for future satellites which would be used as targets for tests of anti-satellite weapons. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1971 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.[1] Following the completion of testing it was intercepted and destroyed by Kosmos 397 on 25 February.[2]
It was launched aboard a Kosmos-3M carrier rocket,[3] from Site 132/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. The launch occurred at 18:48:48 UTC on 9 February 1971.[4]
Kosmos 394 was placed into a low Earth orbit with a perigee of, an apogee of, 65.8 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 95.4 minutes.[1] As of 2009, debris from its destruction is still in orbit.[5]
Kosmos 394 was the second of the five original DS-P1-M satellites to be launched, and the first to successfully reach orbit.[1] The three subsequent launches were all successful, before the satellite was replaced with a derivative, Lira.[6] DS-P1-M and Lira satellites were used as targets for the Istrebitel Sputnikov programme.