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 423 was successfully launched into low Earth orbit on 27 May 1971, with the rocket lifting off at 11:59:55 UTC.

[2] The launch took place from Site 133/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome,[3] and used a Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket.

[5] It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 268 kilometres (167 mi), an apogee of 462 kilometres (287 mi), 71 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 91.8 minutes.

[1][6] It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 26 November 1971.