It was a 325-kilogram (717 lb) spacecraft, which was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and was used as a radar calibration target for anti-ballistic missile tests.

[1] Kosmos 357 was launched from Site 133/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome,[2] atop a Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket.

The launch occurred on 19 August 1970 at 14:59:53 UTC, and resulted in the successful deployment of Kosmos 357 into low Earth orbit.

[5] It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 263 kilometres (163 mi), an apogee of 433 kilometres (269 mi), 70.9 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 91.5 minutes.

[1][6] It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 24 November 1970.