Kosmos 196
Soviet upper atmosphere research satellite
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Kosmos 196 (Russian: Космос 196 meaning Cosmos 196), also known as DS-U1-G No.2, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1967 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme. It was a 352 kilograms (776 lb) spacecraft, which was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Office, and was used to study the effects of solar activity on the upper atmosphere.[3]
| Mission type | Solar research |
|---|---|
| COSPAR ID | 1967-125A |
| SATCAT no. | 03074 |
| Mission duration | 201 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | DS-U1-G |
| Manufacturer | Yuzhnoye |
| Launch mass | 352 kg[1] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 19 December 1967, 06:30:07 GMT |
| Rocket | Kosmos 63S1 |
| Launch site | Kapustin Yar, 86/1 |
| Contractor | Yuzhnoye |
| End of mission | |
| Decay date | 7 July 1968 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric[2] |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee altitude | 223 km |
| Apogee altitude | 860 km |
| Inclination | 49.0° |
| Period | 95.5 minutes |
| Epoch | 19 December 1967 |
A Kosmos 63S1 carrier rocket was used to launch Kosmos 196 into low Earth orbit. The launch took place from Site 86/1 at Kapustin Yar.[4] The launch occurred at 06:30:07 GMT on 19 December 1967, and resulted in the successfully insertion of the satellite into low Earth orbit.[5] Upon reaching orbit, the satellite was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1967-125A. The North American Air Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 03074.[1]
Kosmos 196 was the second of two DS-U1-G satellites to be launched,[3] after Kosmos 108.[6] It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 223 kilometres (139 mi), an apogee of 860 kilometres (530 mi), an inclination of 49.0°, and an orbital period of 95.5 minutes.[2] It completed operations on 7 February 1968.[7] On 7 July 1968, it decayed from orbit and reentered the atmosphere.[8]
