Kosmos 225

Last updated
Kosmos 225
Mission type Magnetosphere
COSPAR ID 1968-048A OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
SATCAT no. 03279
Mission duration144 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeDS-U1-Ya
Manufacturer Yuzhnoye
Launch mass400 kg [1]
Start of mission
Launch date11 June 1968, 21:29:54 GMT
Rocket Kosmos-2I 63SM
Launch site Kapustin Yar, Site 86/4
Contractor Yuzhnoye
End of mission
Last contact29 June 1968
Decay date2 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]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "World Civil Satellites 1957-2006". Space Security Index. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
  2. 1 2 Wade, Mark. "DS-U1-Ya". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
  3. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
  4. Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
  5. "Cosmos 225". NSSDC Master Catalog. US National Space Science Data Center. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
  6. Krebs, Gunter. "DS-U1-Ya". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
  7. 1 2 McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 24 December 2009.