Cosmos (satellite)
Encyclopedia
Kosmos is a designation given to a large number of satellite
s operated by the Soviet Union
and subsequently Russia
. Kosmos 1
, the first spacecraft to be given a Kosmos designation, was launched on March 16, 1962.
As of September 2010, 2,468 Kosmos satellites had been launched. The spacecraft do not form a single programme, but instead consist of almost all Soviet and Russian military satellites, as well as a number of scientific satellites, and spacecraft which failed during or immediately after launch, but still reached orbit. Control systems for 152 spacecraft which were later assigned Kosmos designations were developed and manufactured by NPO Electropribor
(Kharkiv
).
The designation is given only to satellites which are in Earth orbit. Typically, Soviet Lunar and planetary missions were initially put into an low Earth
parking orbit along with an upper stage, which would later burn for around four minutes to place the spacecraft into a cislunar or a heliocentric orbit
. If the engine misfired or the burn was not completed, the probes which would be left in Earth orbit would be given a Kosmos designation.
Most Soviet and subsequently Russian military satellites were given Kosmos designations. Spacecraft include optical reconnaissance satellites, communications satellites, early warning missile defence spacecraft, nuclear-powered
radar reconnaissance satellites, anti-satellite weapon
s and their targets, navigation satellites and technology demonstrators. Some scientific spacecraft such as Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik
, Bion
and Meteor
satellites were also given Kosmos designations.
Orbital mass 285 kg. It was the first satellite of the Soviet Earth Satellite series.
Employed radio instruments in order to study the structure of the ionosphere
.
Orbital mass 285 kg. It was the second satellite of the Soviet Earth Satellite series.
Employed radio instruments in order to study the structure of the ionosphere.
Orbital mass 330 kg. It belongs to the Soviet Earth Satellite series.
It was used to study the upper layers of the atmosphere, Earth
and the outer space
. Data was relayed to Earth by a multichannel telemetry systems equipped with space-borne memory units.
Orbital mass 4600 kg. It was used to study the upper layers of the atmosphere, Earth and the outer space. It was developed to measure radiation before and after nuclear tests conducted during the US project Starfish. Data was relayed to Earth by a multichannel telemetry systems equipped with space-borne memory units.
Orbital mass 280 kg. It was used to study the upper layers of the atmosphere, Earth and the outer space. Data was relayed to Earth by a multichannel telemetry systems equipped with space-borne memory units.
.
Orbital mass 355 kg. It was a Soviet DS (Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik) type military satellite built in Ukraine
for launch by Kosmos launch vehicles. It was used for military and scientific research and component proving tests.
Orbital mass 4600 kg. It was used to study the upper layers of the atmosphere, Earth and the outer space. Data was relayed to Earth by a multichannel telemetry systems equipped with space-borne memory units. It was used to measure radiation in the space environment in order to guarantee safety during the flight of the Vostok 3
and Vostok 4
spacecraft.
.
Orbital mass 337 kg. It was a Soviet DS (Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik) type military satellite built in Ukraine
for launch by Kosmos launch vehicles. It was used for military and scientific research and component proving tests.
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
s operated by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and subsequently Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Kosmos 1
Kosmos 1
Kosmos 1 , also known as DS-2 #1 and occasionally in the West as Sputnik 11 was a technology demonstration and ionospheric research satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1962. It was the first satellite to be designated under the Kosmos system, and the first spacecraft launched as part of the...
, the first spacecraft to be given a Kosmos designation, was launched on March 16, 1962.
As of September 2010, 2,468 Kosmos satellites had been launched. The spacecraft do not form a single programme, but instead consist of almost all Soviet and Russian military satellites, as well as a number of scientific satellites, and spacecraft which failed during or immediately after launch, but still reached orbit. Control systems for 152 spacecraft which were later assigned Kosmos designations were developed and manufactured by NPO Electropribor
Khartron
JSC "Khartron" is a one of the leading design engineering bureaus of CIS , which develops and produces spacecraft control systems.- History and achievements :Khartron Corp...
(Kharkiv
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
).
The designation is given only to satellites which are in Earth orbit. Typically, Soviet Lunar and planetary missions were initially put into an low Earth
Low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...
parking orbit along with an upper stage, which would later burn for around four minutes to place the spacecraft into a cislunar or a heliocentric orbit
Heliocentric orbit
A heliocentric orbit is an orbit around the Sun. All planets, comets, and asteroids in our Solar System are in such orbits, as are many artificial probes and pieces of debris. The moons of planets in the Solar System, by contrast, are not in heliocentric orbits as they orbit their respective planet...
. If the engine misfired or the burn was not completed, the probes which would be left in Earth orbit would be given a Kosmos designation.
Most Soviet and subsequently Russian military satellites were given Kosmos designations. Spacecraft include optical reconnaissance satellites, communications satellites, early warning missile defence spacecraft, nuclear-powered
Nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...
radar reconnaissance satellites, anti-satellite weapon
Anti-satellite weapon
Anti-satellite weapons are designed to incapacitate or destroy satellites for strategic military purposes. Currently, only the United States, the former Soviet Union, and the People's Republic of China are known to have developed these weapons. On September 13, 1985, the United States destroyed US...
s and their targets, navigation satellites and technology demonstrators. Some scientific spacecraft such as Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik
Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik
Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik , also known as DS, was a series of satellites launched by the Soviet Union between 1961 and 1982. DS satellites were used for a number of missions, including technological and scientific research, and radar tracking targets for anti-satellite weapons and anti-ballistic...
, Bion
Bion (satellite)
The Bion satellites or Bion space program , also named Biocosmos, were a series of Soviet biosatellites. They were part of the Cosmos satellites....
and Meteor
Meteor (satellite)
The Meteor craft are weather observation satellites launched by the USSR. The Meteor satellites were designed to monitor atmospheric and sea-surface temperatures, humidity, radiation, sea ice conditions, snow-cover, and clouds.-Meteor 2-21:...
satellites were also given Kosmos designations.
Kosmos 1
Kosmos 1, also known as Sputnik 11, was launched on March 16, 1962 at 12:00:00 UTC.Orbital mass 285 kg. It was the first satellite of the Soviet Earth Satellite series.
Employed radio instruments in order to study the structure of the ionosphere
Ionosphere
The ionosphere is a part of the upper atmosphere, comprising portions of the mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere, distinguished because it is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an important part in atmospheric electricity and forms the inner edge of the magnetosphere...
.
Kosmos 2
Kosmos 2, also known as Sputnik 12, was launched on April 6, 1962 at 17:16:00 UTC.Orbital mass 285 kg. It was the second satellite of the Soviet Earth Satellite series.
Employed radio instruments in order to study the structure of the ionosphere.
Kosmos 3
Kosmos 3, also known as Sputnik 13, was launched on April 24, 1962 at 04:04:00 UTC.Orbital mass 330 kg. It belongs to the Soviet Earth Satellite series.
It was used to study the upper layers of the atmosphere, Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
and the outer space
Outer space
Outer space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....
. Data was relayed to Earth by a multichannel telemetry systems equipped with space-borne memory units.
Kosmos 4
Kosmos 4, also known as Sputnik 14, was launched on April 26, 1962 at 10:04:00 UTC.Orbital mass 4600 kg. It was used to study the upper layers of the atmosphere, Earth and the outer space. It was developed to measure radiation before and after nuclear tests conducted during the US project Starfish. Data was relayed to Earth by a multichannel telemetry systems equipped with space-borne memory units.
Kosmos 5
Kosmos 5, also known as Sputnik 15, was launched on May 28, 1962 at 03:07:00 UTC.Orbital mass 280 kg. It was used to study the upper layers of the atmosphere, Earth and the outer space. Data was relayed to Earth by a multichannel telemetry systems equipped with space-borne memory units.
Kosmos 6
Kosmos 6, also known as Sputnik 16, was launched on June 30, 1962 at 16:04:00 UTC from Kapustin YarKapustin Yar
Kapustin Yar is a Russian rocket launch and development site in Astrakhan Oblast, between Volgograd and Astrakhan. Known today as Znamensk , it was established 13 May 1946 and in the beginning used technology, material, and scientific support from defeated Germany...
.
Orbital mass 355 kg. It was a Soviet DS (Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik) type military satellite built in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
for launch by Kosmos launch vehicles. It was used for military and scientific research and component proving tests.
Kosmos 7
Kosmos 7, also known as Sputnik 17, was launched on July 28, 1962 at 09:21:00 UTC.Orbital mass 4600 kg. It was used to study the upper layers of the atmosphere, Earth and the outer space. Data was relayed to Earth by a multichannel telemetry systems equipped with space-borne memory units. It was used to measure radiation in the space environment in order to guarantee safety during the flight of the Vostok 3
Vostok 3
Vostok 3 was a spaceflight of the Soviet space program intended to determine the ability of the human body to function in conditions of weightlessness and test the endurance of the Vostok 3KA spacecraft over longer flights...
and Vostok 4
Vostok 4
Vostok 4 was a mission in the Soviet space program. It was launched a day after Vostok 3 with cosmonaut Pavel Popovich on board—the first time that more than one manned spacecraft were in orbit at the same time. The two Vostok capsules came within of one another and ship-to-ship radio contact was...
spacecraft.
Kosmos 8
Kosmos 8, also known as Sputnik 18, was launched on August 18, 1962 at 05:02:00 UTC from Kapustin YarKapustin Yar
Kapustin Yar is a Russian rocket launch and development site in Astrakhan Oblast, between Volgograd and Astrakhan. Known today as Znamensk , it was established 13 May 1946 and in the beginning used technology, material, and scientific support from defeated Germany...
.
Orbital mass 337 kg. It was a Soviet DS (Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik) type military satellite built in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
for launch by Kosmos launch vehicles. It was used for military and scientific research and component proving tests.
Other Kosmos satellites
- Kosmos 110 - first Soviet biosatellite (contained biological experiments)
- Kosmos 133 - Soviet Soyuz programme test spacecraft
- Kosmos 186 and 188 - SoyuzSoyuz programmeThe Soyuz programme is a human spaceflight programme that was initiated by the Soviet Union in the early 1960s, originally part of a Moon landing project intended to put a Soviet cosmonaut on the Moon...
predecessor, the first ever automatic docking of satellites - Kosmos 212 and Kosmos 213 - Soyuz programmeSoyuz programmeThe Soyuz programme is a human spaceflight programme that was initiated by the Soviet Union in the early 1960s, originally part of a Moon landing project intended to put a Soviet cosmonaut on the Moon...
test spacecraft - Kosmos 238 - final test series of Soyuz programme spacecraft
- Kosmos 419 - failed Mars mission
- Kosmos 482 - failed Venus mission, crashed in south New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. - Kosmos 605 - first of the BionBion (satellite)The Bion satellites or Bion space program , also named Biocosmos, were a series of Soviet biosatellites. They were part of the Cosmos satellites....
series, containing biological organisms - Kosmos 782 - first mission in which the US participated in the Soviet Kosmos program
- Kosmos 954 - launched with an onboard nuclear reactor; failed (reasons uncertain) and re-entered atmosphere on January 24, 1978, strewing radioactive debris across northern CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
- Kosmos 1001
- Kosmos 1074
- Kosmos 1129
- Kosmos 1267
- Kosmos 1402 - failed
- Kosmos 1514
- Kosmos 1667
- Kosmos 1686
- Kosmos 1818 - RORSATRORSATRadar Ocean Reconnaissance SATellite or RORSAT is the western name given to the Soviet Upravlyaemyj Sputnik Aktivnyj satellites. These satellites were launched between 1967 and 1988 to monitor NATO and merchant vessels using active radar...
with nuclear reactor - Kosmos 1867 - RORSATRORSATRadar Ocean Reconnaissance SATellite or RORSAT is the western name given to the Soviet Upravlyaemyj Sputnik Aktivnyj satellites. These satellites were launched between 1967 and 1988 to monitor NATO and merchant vessels using active radar...
with nuclear reactor - Kosmos 2251 - collided with an IridiumIridium (satellite)Iridium Communications Inc. is a company, based in McLean, VA, United States which operates the Iridium satellite constellation, a system of 66 active satellites used for worldwide voice and data communication from hand-held satellite phones and other transceiver units...
satellite in February 2009 - Kosmos 2441 - first in the a new series of spy satellites (PersonaPersona (satellite)Persona is a class of Russian reconnaissance satellites, derived from the Resurs DK class of remote sensing satellite, itself derived from the Soviet Yantar reconnaissance satellites...
), features updated imaging technology and an extended lifetime of up to seven years, failed