Mission type | ABM radar target |
---|---|
COSPAR ID | 1972-078A |
SATCAT no. | 06222 |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft type | DS-P1-Yu |
Manufacturer | Yuzhnoye |
Launch mass | 325 kilograms (717 lb) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 5 October 1972, 11:30:00 | UTC
Rocket | Kosmos-2I 63SM |
Launch site | Plesetsk 133/1 |
End of mission | |
Decay date | 7 March 1973 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | Low Earth |
Perigee altitude | 264 kilometres (164 mi) |
Apogee altitude | 450 kilometres (280 mi) |
Inclination | 71 degrees |
Period | 91.7 minutes |
Kosmos 523 ( Russian: Космос 523 meaning Cosmos 523), known before launch as DS-P1-Yu No.63, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1972 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]
Kosmos 523 was successfully launched into low Earth orbit at 11:30:00 UTC on 5 October 1972. [2] The launch took place from Site 133/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, [3] and used a Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket. Upon reaching orbit, the satellite was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1972-078A. [4] The North American Aerospace Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 06222.
Kosmos 523 was the fifty-seventh of seventy nine DS-P1-Yu satellites to be launched, [1] and the fifty-first of seventy two to successfully reach orbit. [5] It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 264 kilometres (164 mi), an apogee of 450 kilometres (280 mi), 71 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 91.7 minutes. [6] It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 7 March 1973. [6]