Kosmos 909

Kosmos 909
Mission type ASAT target
COSPAR ID 1977-036A
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type Lira
Manufacturer Yuzhnoye
Launch mass 650 kilograms (1,430 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date 19 May 1977, 16:30 (1977-05-19UTC16:30Z) UTC
Rocket Kosmos-3M
Launch site Plesetsk 132/2
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Perigee 985 kilometres (612 mi)
Apogee 2,111 kilometres (1,312 mi)
Inclination 65.9 degrees
Period 117 minutes

Kosmos 909 (Russian: Космос 909 meaning Cosmos 909) 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 910 and Kosmos 918, as part of the Istrebitel Sputnik programme.[2]

It was launched aboard a Kosmos-3M carrier rocket,[3] from Site 132/2 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. The launch occurred at 16:30 UTC on 19 May 1977.[4]

Kosmos 909 was placed into a low Earth orbit with a perigee of 985 kilometres (612 mi), an apogee of 2,111 kilometres (1,312 mi), 65.9 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 117 minutes.[1] Attempted interceptions by Kosmos 910 and 918 on 23 May and 17 June respectively failed, and as of 2009 Kosmos 909 remains in orbit.[2][5]

Kosmos 909 was the fifth 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

  1. 1 2 3 Wade, Mark. "DS-P1-I". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  2. 1 2 Wade, Mark. "IS-A". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  3. ↑ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  4. ↑ Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 3". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  5. ↑ McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 30 May 2009.


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