Kosmos 1241

Kosmos 1241

Mission type	ASAT target
COSPAR ID	1981-006A
SATCAT no.	12149
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	Lira
Manufacturer	Yuzhnoye
Launch mass	650 kilograms (1,430 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	21 January 1981, 08:29 (1981-01-21UTC08:29Z) UTC
Rocket	Kosmos-3M
Launch site	Plesetsk 132/1
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	989 kilometres (615 mi)
Apogee altitude	995 kilometres (618 mi)
Inclination	65.8 degrees
Period	105 minutes

Kosmos 1241 (Russian: Космос 1241 meaning Cosmos 1241) was a target satellite which was used by the Soviet Union in the 1980s for tests of anti-satellite weapons as part of the Istrebitel Sputnikov programme.[1] It was launched in 1981, and was itself part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.[2] It was a target for Kosmos 1243 and Kosmos 1258.

It was launched at 08:29 UTC on 21 January 1981,[3] using a Kosmos-3M carrier rocket,[4] flying from Site 132/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Northwest Russia.

Kosmos 1241 was placed into a low Earth orbit with a perigee of 989 kilometres (615 mi), an apogee of 995 kilometres (618 mi), 65.8 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 105 minutes.[2] It was intercepted by Kosmos 1243 on 2 February. This was intended to have been a destructive test; however, the explosive charge aboard Kosmos 1243 failed to detonate. Kosmos 1258 attempted to intercept it on 14 March; however, it failed. As of 2009, Kosmos 1241 is still orbiting the Earth.[1][5]

Kosmos 1241 was the ninth of ten Lira satellites to be launched,[2] of which all but the first were successful. Lira was derived from the earlier DS-P1-M satellite, which it replaced. Kosmos 1241 was also the penultimate satellite to be launched as part of the DS programme, which concluded with Kosmos 1375 in June 1982.

See also

• 1981 in spaceflight

References

1. Wade, Mark. "IS-A". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 22 January 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
2. Wade, Mark. "DS-P1-M". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 5 January 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
3. Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 3". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
4. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
5. McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 3 June 2009.