Kosmos 2251

It was launched into Low Earth orbit from Site 132/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome at 04:17 UTC on 16 June 1993, by a Kosmos-3M carrier rocket.· The Strela satellites had a lifespan of 5 years, and the Russian government reported that Kosmos-2251 ceased functioning in 1995. Russia was later criticised by The Space Review for leaving a defunct satellite in a congested orbit, rather than deorbiting it. In response, Russia noted that they were (and are) not required to do so under international law. In any case, the KAUR-1 satellites had no propulsion system, which is usually required for deorbiting.

Kosmos 2251

A Strela-2M communication satellite, similar to Kosmos 2251.
Mission type	Military communication
Operator	VKS
COSPAR ID	1993-036A
SATCAT no.	22675
Mission duration	5 years (nominal mission)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	Strela-2M
Bus	KAUR-1
Manufacturer	Reshetnev
Launch mass	900 kg
Start of mission
Launch date	16 June 1993, 04:17 UTC
Rocket	Kosmos-3M
Launch site	Plesetsk, Site 132/1
End of mission
Last contact	1995
Decay date	10 February 2009 (destroyed in space)
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	783 km
Apogee altitude	821 km
Inclination	74.0°
Period	101.0 minutes

At 16:56 UTC on 10 February 2009, it collided with Iridium 33 (1997-051C), an Iridium satellite, in the first major collision of two satellites in Earth orbit. The Iridium satellite, which was operational at the time of the collision, was destroyed, as was Kosmos-2251. NASA reported that a large amount of debris was produced by the collision.

• Kessler Syndrome