Kosmos 426

Kosmos 426
Mission type Magnetospheric
COSPAR ID 1971-052A
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type DS-U2-K
Manufacturer Yuzhnoye
Launch mass 680 kilograms (1,500 lb)[1]
Start of mission
Launch date 4 June 1971, 18:10:00 (1971-06-04UTC18:10Z) UTC
Rocket Kosmos-3M
Launch site Plesetsk 132/2
End of mission
Decay date 11 May 2002 (2002-05-12)
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Perigee 388 kilometres (241 mi)
Apogee 1,993 kilometres (1,238 mi)
Inclination 74 degrees
Period 109.2 minutes

Kosmos 426 (Russian: Космос 426 meaning Cosmos 426), also known as DS-U2-K No.1, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1971 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme. It was a 680-kilogram (1,500 lb) spacecraft,[1] which was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and was used to study charged particles and radiation in the Earth's magnetosphere.[1]

Launch

A Kosmos-3M carrier rocket, with serial number 65014-101, was used to launch Kosmos 426 into low Earth orbit.[2] The launch took place from Site 132/2 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.[2] The launch occurred at 18:10:00 UTC on 4 June 1971, and resulted in the successful insertion of the satellite into orbit.[3]

Orbit

Upon reaching orbit, the satellite was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1971-052A.[4] The North American Aerospace Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 05281.

Kosmos 426 was the only DS-U2-K satellite to be launched.[1][5] It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 388 kilometres (241 mi), an apogee of 1,993 kilometres (1,238 mi), 74 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 109.2 minutes.[6] It was operated until 12 January 1972,[7] and subsequently remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 11 May 2002.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Wade, Mark. "DS-U2-K". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
  2. 1 2 McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
  3. ↑ Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 3". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
  4. ↑ "Cosmos 426". NSSDC Master Catalog. US National Space Science Data Center. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
  5. ↑ Krebs, Gunter. "DS-U2-K". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
  6. 1 2 McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
  7. ↑ "World Civil Satellites 1957-2006". Space Security Index. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
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