Kosmos 388

Kosmos 388 (Космос 388 meaning Cosmos 388), known before launch as DS-P1-Yu No.43, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1970 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme. It was a 325 kg spacecraft, which was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and was used as a radar calibration target for anti-ballistic missile tests.

Launch
Kosmos 388 was successfully launched into low Earth orbit on 18 December 1970, with the rocket lifting off at 09:39:13 UTC. The launch took place from Site 133/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, and used a Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket. Upon reaching orbit, it was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1970-112A.

Orbit
Kosmos 388 was the thirty-eighth of seventy nine DS-P1-Yu satellites to be launched, and the thirty-fifth of seventy two to successfully reach orbit. It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 263 km, an apogee of 479 km, 70.9 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 92 minutes. It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 10 May 1971.