Kosmos 142

Kosmos 142

Mission type	Ionosphere
COSPAR ID	1967-013A
SATCAT no.	02678
Mission duration	142 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	DS-U2-I
Manufacturer	Yuzhnoye
Launch mass	315 kg[1]
Start of mission
Launch date	14 February 1967, 10:04:56 GMT
Rocket	Kosmos-2I 63SM
Launch site	Kapustin Yar, Site 86/1
Contractor	Yuzhnoye
End of mission
Decay date	6 July 1967
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric[2]
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	207 km
Apogee altitude	1336 km
Inclination	48.4°
Period	100.3 minutes
Epoch	14 February 1967

Kosmos 142 (Russian: Космос 142 meaning Cosmos 142), also known as DS-U2-I No.2, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1967 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme. It was a 315 kilograms (694 lb) spacecraft, which was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and was used to study the effects on radio waves of passing through the ionosphere.^[3]

A Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket was used to launch Kosmos 142 into low Earth orbit. The launch took place from Site 86/1 at Kapustin Yar.^[4] The launch occurred at 10:04:56 GMT on 14 February 1967, 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 1967-013A.^[1] The North American Air Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 02678.

Kosmos 142 was the second of three DS-U2-I satellites to be launched.^[6] It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 207 kilometres (129 mi), an apogee of 1,336 kilometres (830 mi), an inclination of 48.4°, and an orbital period of 100.3 minutes.^[2] On 6 July 1967, it decayed from orbit and reentered the atmosphere.^[7]

See also

• 1967 in spaceflight

References

1. "Cosmos 142: Display 1967-013A". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. NASA. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
2. "Cosmos 142: Trajectory 1967-013A". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. NASA. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
3. Wade, Mark. "DS-U2-I". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 8 January 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
4. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
5. Wade, Mark. "Kosmos 2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
6. Krebs, Gunter. "DS-U2-I". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
7. McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 23 December 2009.