| Mission type | Magnetosphere |
|---|---|
| COSPAR ID | 1968-048A |
| SATCAT no. | 03279 |
| Mission duration | 144 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | DS-U1-Ya |
| Manufacturer | Yuzhnoye |
| Launch mass | 400 kg [1] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 11 June 1968, 21:29:54 GMT |
| Rocket | Kosmos-2I 63SM |
| Launch site | Kapustin Yar, Site 86/4 |
| Contractor | Yuzhnoye |
| End of mission | |
| Last contact | 29 June 1968 |
| Decay date | 2 November 1968 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee altitude | 255 km |
| Apogee altitude | 512 km |
| Inclination | 48.4° |
| Period | 92.2 minutes |
| Epoch | 11 June 1968 |
Kosmos 225 (Russian : Космос 225 meaning Cosmos 225), also known as DS-U1-Ya No.2, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1968 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme. It was a 400 kilograms (880 lb) spacecraft, [1] which was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and was used to investigate cosmic rays and flows of charged particles in the Earth's magnetosphere. [2]
A Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket was used to launch Kosmos 225 into low Earth orbit. The launch took place from Site 86/4 at Kapustin Yar. [3] The launch occurred at 21:29:54 GMT on 11 June 1968, and resulted in the successful insertion of the satellite into orbit. [4] Upon reaching orbit, the satellite was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1968-048A. [5] The North American Air Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 03279.
Kosmos 225 was the second of two DS-U1-Ya satellites to be launched, but the only one to successfully reach orbit; the DS-U1-Ya No.1 satellite having been lost in a launch failure, on 6 March 1968, due to a second stage malfunction, 216 seconds into its flight. [2] [6] Kosmos 225 was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 255 kilometres (158 mi), an apogee of 512 kilometres (318 mi), an inclination of 48.4°, and an orbital period of 92.2 minutes. [7] It completed operations on 29 June 1968, before decaying from orbit and reentering the atmosphere on 2 November 1968. [7]
