Kosmos 1247 (russian: Космос 1247 meaning ''Cosmos 1247'') was a Soviet
US-K missile
early warning satellite which was launched in 1981 as part of the Soviet military's
Oko programme. The satellite was designed to identify missile launches using
optical telescopes and
infrared sensors.
Kosmos 1247 was launched from
Site 16/2 at
Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Russian SSR.
A
Molniya-M carrier rocket with a
2BL upper stage was used to perform the launch, which took place at 10:00 UTC on 19 February 1981.
The launch successfully placed the satellite into a
molniya orbit. It subsequently received its
Kosmos
The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity.
The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in ...
designation, and the
international designator 1981-016A.
The
United States Space Command assigned it the
Satellite Catalog Number 12303.
Kosmos 1247 was a US-K satellite like
Kosmos 862
Kosmos 862 (russian: Космос 862 meaning ''Cosmos 862'') was a Soviet US-K missile early warning satellite which was launched in 1976 as part of the Soviet military's Oko programme. The satellite was designed to identify missile launches usin ...
that NASA believes deliberately self-destructed in orbit. It was observed to have
completed the first burn in a 2-phase maneuver sequence on 20 October 1981, followed by debris generation. All but one of the resultant debris pieces are still in orbit.
See also
*
1981 in spaceflight
The following is an outline of 1981 in spaceflight.
Launches
, colspan="8",
January
, -
, colspan="8",
February
, -
, colspan="8",
March
, -
, co ...
*
List of Kosmos satellites (1251–1500)
*
List of Oko satellites
Oko is a Russian satellite-based missile detection and early warning system. The system has used a total of 101 satellites, which were launched between 1972 and 2012. Eighty six US-K satellites, operated in semisynchronous elliptical molniya orb ...
*
List of R-7 launches (1980-1984)
This is a list of launches made by the R-7 Semyorka ICBM, and its derivatives. All launches are orbital satellite launches, unless stated otherwise.
Due to the size of the list, it has been split into several smaller articles:
* List of R-7 ...
References
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