CERTIFICATE OF RE-ENTRYOrbital Register™ · by Orbital Radar™
Entry no.
1973-0094
Kapsula Kosmosa-552
Nauka 16KS No. 2L
Kapsula Kosmosa-552 (NORAD 6397) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on 9 April 1973, after 18 days in orbit.
Official dateIdentified from the historical record
NORAD number
6397
International designator
1973-016C
Object type
Spacecraft
Official listing
COSMOS 552 DEBListed as a fragment
Country
USSR
Launched
22 Mar 1973Plesetsk Cosmodrome
Re-entered (UTC)
9 Apr 1973UTC calendar day
Time in orbit
18 days18 days
How it ended
Re-entered (natural decay)
Latitude range
72.8°N to 72.8°SFinal inclination 72.8°
Mass
630 kg
Operator
TsKBEM Fil. 3
Built by
TsKBEM Fil. 3
Bus
Nauka
Programme
Nauka 16KS
Where it came down
Latitude band its orbit allowedExact position not recorded
No position was recorded for this re-entry. Its final orbit, inclined at 72.8°, allowed a re-entry anywhere between 72.8°N and 72.8°S.
Life in orbit
18 daysAlso ended on 9 Apr 1973
3 entriesFrom the same launch
1973-016
Entered in the Orbital Register™, founding volume, September 2026.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/1973-0094
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/1973-0094
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.