Kosmos 137

Kosmos 137 (Russian: Космос 137 meaning Cosmos 137), also known as DS-U2-D No.1, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1966 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme. It was a 295 kilograms (650 lb) spacecraft, which was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and was used to investigate charged particles in the Earth's magnetosphere.[3]

Kosmos 137
Mission typeMagnetosphere
COSPAR ID1966-117A
SATCAT no.02627
Mission duration142 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeDS-U2-D
ManufacturerYuzhnoye
Launch mass295 kg[1]
Start of mission
Launch date21 December 1966
13:11:59 GMT
RocketKosmos-2I 63S1
Launch siteKapustin Yar, Site 86/1
ContractorYuzhnoye
End of mission
Last contact12 May 1967
Decay date23 November 1967
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric[2]
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude219 km
Apogee altitude1718 km
Inclination48.8°
Period104.3 minutes
Epoch21 December 1966
 

A Kosmos-2I 63S1 carrier rocket was used to launch Kosmos 137 into low Earth orbit. The launch took place from Site 86/1 at Kapustin Yar.[4] The launch occurred at 13:11:59 GMT on 21 December 1966, and resulted in the successful insertion of the satellite into orbit.[5] Upon reaching orbit, the satellite was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1966-117A. The North American Air Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 02627.[1]

Kosmos 137 was the first of two DS-U2-D satellites to be launched,[3] and was followed by Kosmos 219 (26 April 1968).[6] It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 219 kilometres (136 mi), an apogee of 1,718 kilometres (1,068 mi), an inclination of 48.8°, and an orbital period of 104.3 minutes.[2] It completed operations on 12 May 1967,[7] before decaying from orbit and reentering the atmosphere on 23 November 1967.[8]

See also

References
  1. "Cosmos 137: Display 1966-117A". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. NASA. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. "Cosmos 137: Trajectory 1966-117A". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. NASA. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  3. Wade, Mark. "DS-U2-D". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 5 January 2009. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
  4. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
  5. Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
  6. Krebs, Gunter. "DS-U2-D". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
  7. "World Civil Satellites 1957-2006". Space Security Index. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
  8. McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 24 December 2009.


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