Kosmos 839

Kosmos 839
Mission type ASAT target
COSPAR ID 1976-067A
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type Lira
Manufacturer Yuzhnoye
Launch mass 650 kilograms (1,430 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date 8 July 1976, 21:08 (1976-07-08UTC21:08Z) UTC
Rocket Kosmos-3M
Launch site Plesetsk 132/1
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Perigee 915 kilometres (569 mi)
Apogee 2,053 kilometres (1,276 mi)
Inclination 65.9 degrees
Period 115.6 minutes

Kosmos 839 (Russian: Космос 839 meaning Cosmos 839) 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 843 as part of the Istrebitel Sputnik programme.[2]

It was launched aboard a Kosmos-3M carrier rocket,[3] from Site 132/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. The launch occurred at 21:08 UTC on 8 July 1976.[4]

Kosmos 839 was placed into a low Earth orbit with a perigee of 915 kilometres (569 mi), an apogee of 2,053 kilometres (1,276 mi), 65.9 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 115.6 minutes.[1] It was successfully intercepted by Kosmos 843 on 21 July. As of 2009, debris is still in orbit.[2][5]

Kosmos 839 was the third 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.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Wade, Mark. "DS-P1-I". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  2. 1 2 Wade, Mark. "IS-A". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  3. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  4. Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 3". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  5. McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 30 May 2009.


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