MOSCOW. Nov 20 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia's Mission Control Center has ended the service life of the Kosmos-2423 satellite, Space Forces spokesman Alexei Kuznetsov told Interfax-AVN on Monday.
"The mission of the Kosmos-2423 satellite was accomplished. The satellite was de-orbited. It ceased to exist and burnt up in the atmosphere," he said.
Kuznetsov denied several media reports claiming that the satellite had malfunctioned.
"Reports that a technical failure allegedly caused the satellite to cease operating are not true," the spokesman said.
Several media outlets reported earlier on Monday, citing unofficial sources, that the Kosmos-2423 military intelligence satellite, launched from Baikonur on September 14, has stopped its operation.
According to independent experts, the satellite was the last Don-class spacecraft, also known as the Orlets-1 or spacecraft under a designation of 17F12.
The military satellite operated in orbit for two months. Such satellites usually have a service live of about four months. The spacecraft was of an obsolete type. Don satellites transfer intelligence data down to the Earth with the help of descent capsules, storing images. The data transfer in question is entangled with numerous difficulties.
The satellite was launched into space by the Space Forces with the help of the Soyuz-U medium launch vehicle, designed to orbit Soyuz-TM manned spacecraft, Progress freighters, and various spacecraft with a weight of up to 7,200 kg to the circular orbit with an inclination of 51 degrees and an altitude of 200 km. The launch vehicle has been designed and manufactured by the Samara-based TsSKB-Progress Design Bureau.