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
Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik (russian: Днепропетровский Спутник; ua, Дніпропетровський супутник), also known as DS, was a series of satellites launched by the Soviet Union between 1961 and 1982. DS satel ...
programme. It was a spacecraft, which was built by the
Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and was used as a radar calibration target for
anti-ballistic missile
An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) is a surface-to-air missile designed to counter ballistic missiles (missile defense). Ballistic missiles are used to deliver nuclear weapon, nuclear, Chemical weapon, chemical, Bioagent, biological, or conventiona ...
tests.
Launch
Kosmos 481 was successfully launched into
low Earth orbit at 10:39:59 UTC on 25 March 1972.
The launch took place from
Site 133/1 at the
Plesetsk Cosmodrome,
and used a
Kosmos-2I
Kosmos-2I (GRAU Index: 11K63, also known as Cosmos-2I and also known by the designation Kosmos-2) is the designation applied to two Soviet carrier rockets, members of the R-12 Kosmos rocket family, which were used to orbit satellites between 196 ...
63SM
carrier rocket.
Orbit
Upon reaching orbit, it was assigned 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 received the
International Designator 1972-020A.
The
North American Aerospace Defense Command assigned it the
catalogue number 05906.
Kosmos 481 was the fifty-first of seventy nine
DS-P1-Yu
DS-P1-Yu was a series of Soviet satellites developed by the Yuzhnoye Design Office of Ukraine, for use in calibrating the Dnestr space surveillance and early-warning radar system. Between 1964 and 1976, a total of 79 satellites were launched on ...
satellites to be launched,
and the forty-sixth of seventy two to successfully reach orbit.
It was operated in an orbit with a
perigee of , an
apogee of , 71 degrees of
inclination, and an
orbital period of 92 minutes.
It remained in orbit until it
decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 2 September 1972.
See also
*
1972 in spaceflight
1972 saw humanity's last crewed mission to the Moon of the 20th century, Apollo 17.
Launches
This is a list of spaceflights launched in 1972.
Launches from the Moon
Deep space rendezvous in 1972
*February 21 – Luna 20, ...
References
1972 in spaceflight
Kosmos satellites
Spacecraft launched in 1972
Spacecraft which reentered in 1972
Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik program
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