Kosmos 959 (Russian: Космос 959 meaning Cosmos 959) was a satellite which was used as a target for tests of anti-satellite weapons. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1977 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme,[1] and used as a target for Kosmos 961, as part of the Istrebitel Sputnikov programme.[2]
It was launched aboard a Kosmos-3M carrier rocket,[3] from Site 132/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. The launch occurred at 10:05 UTC on 21 October 1977.[4]
Kosmos 959 was placed into a low Earth orbit with a perigee of 146 kilometres (91 mi), an apogee of 850 kilometres (530 mi), 65.8 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 94.6 minutes.[1] It was successfully intercepted by Kosmos 961, as part of a non-destructive test. Following this, it decayed from orbit on 30 November 1977.[2][5]
Kosmos 959 was the sixth of ten Lira satellites to be launched,[1] of which all but the first were successful. Lira was derived from the earlier DS-P1-M satellite, which it replaced.
See also
References
- ^ a b c Wade, Mark. "DS-P1-M". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 5 January 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
- ^ a b Wade, Mark. "IS-A". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 22 January 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
- ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
- ^ Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 3". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
- ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
You must be logged in to post a comment.