Names | Zenit 2-25 |
---|---|
Mission type | Optical imaging reconnaissance |
Operator | OKB-1 |
COSPAR ID | 1965-001A |
SATCAT no. | 968 |
Mission duration | 8 days |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft type | Zenit-2 |
Manufacturer | OKB-1 |
Launch mass | 4730 kg[1] |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 11 January 1965 09:36:00 GMT |
Rocket | Vostok-2 |
Launch site | Baikonur 31/6 |
Contractor | OKB-1 |
End of mission | |
Disposal | Recovered |
Landing date | 19 January 1965 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric[2] |
Regime | Low Earth |
Perigee altitude | 203 km |
Apogee altitude | 298 km |
Inclination | 65.0° |
Period | 89.5 minutes |
Epoch | 11 January 1965 |
Zenit programme Zenit-2 |
Kosmos 52 (Russian: Космос 52 meaning Cosmos 52) or Zenit-2 No.25 was a Soviet, first generation, low resolution, optical film-return reconnaissance satellite launched in 1965. A Zenit-2 spacecraft, Kosmos 52 was the twenty-fifth of eighty-one such satellites to be launched[3] and had a mass of 4,730 kilograms (10,430 lb).
Kosmos 52 was launched by a Vostok-2 rocket, serial number R15002-03,[4] flying from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The launch took place at 09:36 GMT on 11 January 1965,[5] with the spacecraft receiving its Kosmos designation - along with the International Designator 1965-001A and the Satellite Catalog Number 00968 - upon its successful insertion into orbit. It was the first satellite to be launched in the year 1965.
Kosmos 52 was operated in a low Earth orbit. On 11 January 1965 it had a perigee of 203 kilometres (126 mi), an apogee of 298 kilometres (185 mi), an inclination of 65.0° and an orbital period of 89.5 minutes.[6] On 19 January 1965, eight days after launch, Kosmos 52 was deorbited so that its return capsule could be recovered by Soviet forces and its photos developed and analysed.[7]