[FPSPACE] The mystery of Cosmos 1603

[David Anderman]

On Sept 28, 1984, Cosmos 1603 was launched into a 51.6 degree orbit by a 
Proton/DM 2 launch vehicle, and subsequently changed orbits to first a 66 
degree and ultimately a 70 degree orbit.  The spacecraft has since been 
described as "Tselina", although no photo of the spacecraft in this partial 
variant of the Tselina system has been published. Later Tselinas were 
launched by the then-new Zenit launcher, directly to the 70 degree orbit.

The mystery is why the Proton required the intermediate orbits to reach 70 
degrees? Was this a launch azimuth constraint, did someone want to test 
multiple Block-D firings, or was it to test NORAD, since the reports of the 
day indicated that NORAD "lost" Cosmos 1603.

DWA