Kosmos 521
| Mission type | ASAT target |
|---|---|
| COSPAR ID | 1972-074A |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | DS-P1-M |
| Manufacturer | Yuzhnoye |
| Launch mass | 650 kilograms (1,430 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 29 September 1972, 20:18:59 UTC |
| Rocket | Kosmos-3M |
| Launch site | Plesetsk 132/2 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee | 987 kilometres (613 mi) |
| Apogee | 992 kilometres (616 mi) |
| Inclination | 65.8 degrees |
| Period | 104.9 minutes |
Kosmos 521 (Russian: Космос 521 meaning Cosmos 521), also known as DS-P1-M No.4 is a satellite which was intended for use as a target for tests of anti-satellite weapons. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1972 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme,[1] and was to have been used as a target for an IS-A interceptor, as part of the Istrebitel Sputnik programme. A malfunction aboard the satellite rendered it useless, and the interceptor was not launched.[2]
It was launched aboard a Kosmos-3M carrier rocket,[3] from Site 132/2 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. The launch occurred at 20:18:59 UTC on 29 September 1972.[4]
Kosmos 521 was placed into a low Earth orbit with a perigee of 987 kilometres (613 mi), an apogee of 992 kilometres (616 mi), 65.8 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 104.9 minutes.[1] No attempt to intercept the satellite was made after its onboard telemetry system malfunctioned. As of 2009, it is still in orbit.[2][5] Western analysts did not identify Kosmos 521 as being associated with the Soviet ASAT programme until records were declassified.
Kosmos 521 was the last of the five original DS-P1-M satellites to be launched,[1] of which all but the first were successfully reached orbit. Despite its successful launch, the satellite malfunctioned shortly after reaching orbit, and was unusable. Subsequent launches used a modified version of the DS-P1-M, known as Lira.[6]
See also
References
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