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MOSCOW, November 20 (RIA Novosti) - Russian space officials dismissed media reports Monday that the Cosmos 2423 military satellite was de-orbited because its onboard equipment had broken down.
Space Force spokesman Alexei Kuznetsov said the decision to de-orbit Cosmos was made because the spacecraft had completed its mission.
The satellite was launched September 14, 2006, to provide imaging data for military as well as civilian purposes. It is part of the Russian Space Force's Orlets-1 Don photoreconnaissance program, in operation since 1989.
Orlets-1 satellites rely on film to record images, so their lifespan rarely exceeds 60 days.
