Mission type | ABM radar target |
---|---|
COSPAR ID | 1972-020A |
SATCAT no. | 05906
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Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft type | DS-P1-Yu |
Manufacturer | Yuzhnoye |
Launch mass | 375 kilograms (827 lb) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 25 March 1972, 10:39:59 | UTC
Rocket | Kosmos-2I 63SM |
Launch site | Plesetsk 133/1 |
End of mission | |
Decay date | 2 September 1972 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | Low Earth |
Perigee altitude | 262 kilometres (163 mi) |
Apogee altitude | 478 kilometres (297 mi) |
Inclination | 71 degrees |
Period | 92 minutes |
Kosmos 481 ( Russian: Космос 481 meaning Cosmos 481), known before launch as DS-P1-Yu No.46, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1972 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme. It was a 375-kilogram (827 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 481 was successfully launched into low Earth orbit at 10:39:59 UTC on 25 March 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, it was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1972-020A. [4] The North American Aerospace Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 05906.
Kosmos 481 was the fifty-first of seventy nine DS-P1-Yu satellites to be launched, [1] and the forty-sixth of seventy two to successfully reach orbit. [5] It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 262 kilometres (163 mi), an apogee of 478 kilometres (297 mi), 71 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 92 minutes. [1] [6] It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 2 September 1972. [6]