| Mission type | ASAT target |
|---|---|
| COSPAR ID | 1976-120A |
| SATCAT no. | 09601 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Lira |
| Manufacturer | Yuzhnoye |
| Launch mass | 650 kilograms (1,430 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 9 December 1976, 20:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Kosmos-3M |
| Launch site | Plesetsk 132/2 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee altitude | 558 kilometres (347 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 614 kilometres (382 mi) |
| Inclination | 65.8 degrees |
| Period | 96.3 minutes |
Kosmos 880 (Russian: Космос 880 meaning Cosmos 880) was a satellite which was used as a target for tests of anti-satellite weapons. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1976 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme,[1] and used as a target for Kosmos 886, as part of the Istrebitel Sputnikov programme.[2]
It was launched aboard a Kosmos-3M carrier rocket,[3] from Site 132/2 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. The launch occurred at 20:00 UTC on 9 December 1976.[4]
Kosmos 880 was placed into a low Earth orbit with a perigee of 558 kilometres (347 mi), an apogee of 614 kilometres (382 mi), 65.8 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 96.3 minutes.[1] It was successfully intercepted and destroyed by Kosmos 886 on 27 December 1976.[2] The last catalogued piece of debris decayed from orbit on 9 December 2001 (although pieces of debris of Kosmos 886, the intercepting device, remain in orbit as of 2023).[5]
Kosmos 880 was the fourth of ten Lira satellites to be launched,[1] of which all but the first were successful. Lira was derived from the earlier DS-P1-M satellite, which it replaced.
- ^ a b c Wade, Mark. "DS-P1-I". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 5 January 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ^ a b Wade, Mark. "IS-A". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 22 January 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ^ Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 3". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 30 May 2009.