| Major contractors | Yuzhnoye |
|---|---|
| Bus | Lira |
| Mission type | ASAT target |
| Launch date | 8 July 1976 21:08 GMT |
| Carrier rocket | Kosmos-3M |
| Launch site | Plesetsk Site 132/1 |
| COSPAR ID | 1976-067A |
| Mass | 650 kilograms (1,400 lb) |
| Orbital elements | |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Inclination | 65.9° |
| Apoapsis | 2,053 kilometres (1,276 mi) |
| Periapsis | 915 kilometres (569 mi) |
| Orbital period | 115.6 minutes |
Kosmos 839 (Russian: Космос 839 meaning Cosmos 839) was a satellite which was used as a target for tests of anti-satellite weapons. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1976 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme,[1] and used as a target for Kosmos 843, as part of the Istrebitel Sputnik programme.[2]
It was launched aboard a Kosmos-3M carrier rocket,[3] from Site 132/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. The launch occurred at 21:08 GMT on 8 July 1976.[4]
Kosmos 839 was placed into a low Earth orbit with a perigee of 915 kilometres (569 mi), an apogee of 2,053 kilometres (1,276 mi), 65.9 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 115.6 minutes.[1] It was successfully intercepted by Kosmos 843 on 21 July. As of 2009, debris is still in orbit.[2][5]
Kosmos 839 was the third 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.
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