Kosmos 880

Summary

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]

Kosmos 880
Mission typeASAT target
COSPAR ID1976-120A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.09601Edit this on Wikidata
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeLira
ManufacturerYuzhnoye
Launch mass650 kilograms (1,430 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date9 December 1976, 20:00 (1976-12-09UTC20Z) UTC
RocketKosmos-3M
Launch sitePlesetsk 132/2
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude558 kilometres (347 mi)
Apogee altitude614 kilometres (382 mi)
Inclination65.8 degrees
Period96.3 minutes
 

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.

See also edit

References edit

  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.