Kosmos 917 (russian: Космос 917 meaning ''Cosmos 917'') was a Soviet
US-K
Upravlyaemy Sputnik Kontinentalny (russian: Управляемый Спутник Континентальный meaning ''Continental Controllable Satellite'') or US-K (russian: УС-К) is a series of Russian, previously Soviet, satellites used t ...
missile
early warning satellite
An early warning satellite is a satellite designed to rapidly detect ballistic missile launches and thus enable defensive military action. To do this, these satellites use infrared detectors that identify the missile thanks to the heat given off ...
which was launched in 1977 as part of the Soviet military's
Oko
OKO ( rus, ОКО, r=, literally means eye, also an abbreviation for Ob'yedinonnyye Kristallom Osnovaniya ( rus, Oбъединённые Кристаллом Oснования, r=, literally means Foundations Bound by a Crystal)) is a complex o ...
programme. The satellite was designed to identify missile launches using
optical telescope
An optical telescope is a telescope that gathers and focuses light mainly from the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, to create a magnified image for direct visual inspection, to make a photograph, or to collect data through electro ...
s and
infrared sensor
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
s.
Kosmos 917 was launched from
Site 43/4 at
Plesetsk Cosmodrome
Plesetsk Cosmodrome ( rus, Космодром «Плесецк», r=Kosmodrom "Plesetsk", p=kəsmɐˈdrom plʲɪˈsʲet͡sk) is a Russian spaceport located in Mirny, Arkhangelsk Oblast, about 800 km north of Moscow and approximately 200&n ...
in the Russian SSR.
A
Molniya-M
The Molniya-M (russian: Молния, meaning "lightning"), designation 8K78M, was a Soviet Union (later Russian) launch vehicle derived from the R-7 Semyorka Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
The original 8K78 booster had been the ...
carrier rocket with a
2BL upper stage was used to perform the launch, which took place at 04:44 UTC on 16 June 1977.
The launch successfully placed the satellite into a
molniya orbit
A Molniya orbit ( rus, Молния, p=ˈmolnʲɪjə, a=Ru-молния.ogg, "Lightning") is a type of satellite orbit designed to provide communications and remote sensing coverage over high latitudes. It is a highly elliptical orbit with an ...
. It subsequently received its
Kosmos designation, and the
international designator 1977-047A.
The
United States Space Command
United States Space Command (USSPACECOM or SPACECOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Department of Defense, responsible for military operations in outer space, specifically all operations 100 kilometers (62 miles) and grea ...
assigned it the
Satellite Catalog Number
The Satellite Catalog Number (SATCAT, also known as NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense) Catalog Number, NORAD ID, USSPACECOM object number or simply catalog number, among similar variants) is a sequential nine-digit number assigned by the Un ...
10059.
It self-destructed on 8 June 1978.
The primary portion of it re-entered on 4 January 2023, but several pieces of its debris still remain in orbit.
See also
*
List of Kosmos satellites (751–1000)
The designation '' Kosmos'' (russian: Космос meaning ''Cosmos'') is a generic name given to a large number of Soviet, and subsequently Russian, satellites, the first of which was launched in 1962. Satellites given Kosmos designations include ...
*
List of R-7 launches (1975-1979)
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 ...
*
1977 in spaceflight
Spaceflight in 1977 included some important events such as the roll out of the Space Shuttle orbiter, ''Voyager 1'' and Voyager space probes were launched. NASA received the Space Shuttle orbiter later named , on 14 January. This unpowered sub- ...
*
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 ...
References
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