Kosmos 421

Kosmos 421
Mission type ABM radar target
COSPAR ID 1971-044A
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type DS-P1-Yu
Manufacturer Yuzhnoye
Launch mass 325 kilograms (717 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date 19 May 1971, 10:20:00 (1971-05-19UTC10:20Z) UTC
Rocket Kosmos-2I 63SM
Launch site Plesetsk 133/1
End of mission
Decay date 8 November 1971 (1971-11-09)
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Perigee 266 kilometres (165 mi)
Apogee 445 kilometres (277 mi)
Inclination 70.9 degrees
Period 91.65 minutes

Kosmos 421 (Russian: Космос 421 meaning Cosmos 421), known before launch as DS-P1-Yu No.48, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1971 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme. It was a 325-kilogram (717 lb) spacecraft, which was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and was used as a radar calibration target for anti-ballistic missile tests.[1]

Launch

Kosmos 421 was successfully launched into low Earth orbit on 19 May 1971, with the rocket lifting-off at 10:20:00 UTC.[2] The launch took place from Site 133/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome,[3] and used a Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket.

Orbit

Upon reaching orbit, it was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1971-044A.[4]

Kosmos 421 was the forty-second of seventy nine DS-P1-Yu satellites to be launched,[1] and the thirty-eighth of seventy two to successfully reach orbit.[5] It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 266 kilometres (165 mi), an apogee of 445 kilometres (277 mi), 70.9 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 91.65 minutes.[1][6] It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 8 November 1971.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Wade, Mark. "DS-P1-Yu". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
  2. ↑ Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
  3. ↑ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
  4. ↑ "Cosmos 421". NSSDC Master Catalog. US National Space Science Data Center. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
  5. ↑ Krebs, Gunter. "DS-P1-Yu (11F618)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
  6. 1 2 McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
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