Kosmos 909

Kosmos 909
Mission typeASAT target
COSPAR ID1977-036A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.10010Edit this on Wikidata
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeLira
ManufacturerYuzhnoye
Launch mass650 kilograms (1,430 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date19 May 1977, 16:30 (1977-05-19UTC16:30Z) UTC
RocketKosmos-3M
Launch sitePlesetsk 132/2
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude985 kilometres (612 mi)
Apogee altitude2,111 kilometres (1,312 mi)
Inclination65.9 degrees
Period117 minutes

Kosmos 909 (Russian: Космос 909 meaning Cosmos 909) was a satellite which was used as a target for tests of anti-satellite weapons. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1977 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme,[1] and used as a target for Kosmos 910 and Kosmos 918, 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 16:30 UTC on 19 May 1977.[4]

Kosmos 909 was placed into a low Earth orbit with a perigee of 985 kilometres (612 mi), an apogee of 2,111 kilometres (1,312 mi), 65.9 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 117 minutes.[1] Attempted interceptions by Kosmos 910 and 918 on 23 May and 17 June respectively failed, and as of 2009 Kosmos 909 remains in orbit.[2][5]

Kosmos 909 was the fifth 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.

  1. ^ a b c Wade, Mark. "DS-P1-I". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 5 January 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  2. ^ a b Wade, Mark. "IS-A". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 22 January 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  3. ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  4. ^ Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 3". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  5. ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 30 May 2009.