CERTIFICATE OF RE-ENTRYOrbital Register™ · by Orbital Radar™
Entry no.
1973-0256
COSMOS 557
COSMOS 557 (NORAD 6498) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on 22 May 1973, after 11 days in orbit.
Official date
NORAD number
6498
International designator
1973-026A
Object type
Spacecraft
Country
USSR
Launched
11 May 1973Baikonur Cosmodrome
Re-entered (UTC)
22 May 1973UTC calendar day
Time in orbit
11 days11 days
How it ended
Re-entered (natural decay)
Latitude range
51.6°N to 51.6°SFinal inclination 51.6°
Mass
18,500 kg
Operator
TsKBEM
Built by
ZIKh
Bus
Almaz
Programme
DOS
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 51.6°, allowed a re-entry anywhere between 51.6°N and 51.6°S.
Life in orbit
11 daysAlso ended on 22 May 1973
5 entriesFrom the same launch
1973-026Entered in the Orbital Register™, founding volume, September 2026.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/1973-0256
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/1973-0256
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.