Kosmos 1247

Kosmos 1247

Mission type	Early warning
COSPAR ID	1981-016A
SATCAT no.	12303
Mission duration	4 years [1]
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	US-K[2]
Launch mass	1,900 kilograms (4,200 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	19 February 1981, 10:00 (1981-02-19UTC10Z) UTC
Rocket	Molniya-M/2BL[2]
Launch site	Plesetsk Cosmodrome[2][3]
End of mission
Deactivated	20 October 1981[1]
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Molniya [2]
Perigee altitude	648 kilometres (403 mi)[4]
Apogee altitude	39,708 kilometres (24,673 mi)[4]
Inclination	62.9 degrees[4]
Period	717.82 minutes[4]

Kosmos 1247 (Russian: Космос 1247 meaning Cosmos 1247) was a Soviet US-K missile early warning satellite which was launched in 1981 as part of the Soviet military's Oko programme. The satellite was designed to identify missile launches using optical telescopes and infrared sensors.^[2]

Kosmos 1247 was launched from Site 16/2 at Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Russian SSR.^[3] A Molniya-M carrier rocket with a 2BL upper stage was used to perform the launch, which took place at 10:00 UTC on 19 February 1981.^[3] The launch successfully placed the satellite into a molniya orbit. It subsequently received its Kosmos designation, and the international designator 1981-016A.^[4] The United States Space Command assigned it the Satellite Catalog Number 12303.^[4]

Kosmos 1247 was a US-K satellite like Kosmos 862 that NASA believes deliberately self-destructed in orbit. It was observed to have completed the first burn in a 2-phase maneuver sequence on 20 October 1981, followed by debris generation. All but one of the resultant debris pieces are still in orbit.^[5]

See also

• 1981 in spaceflight
• List of Kosmos satellites (1251–1500)
• List of Oko satellites
• List of R-7 launches (1980-1984)

References

1. Podvig, Pavel (2002). "History and the Current Status of the Russian Early-Warning System" (PDF). Science and Global Security. 10 (1): 21–60. Bibcode:2002S&GS...10...21P. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.692.6127. doi:10.1080/08929880212328. ISSN 0892-9882. S2CID 122901563. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-15.
2. "US-K (73D6)". Gunter's Space Page. 2012-03-08. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
3. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
4. McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
5. Anz-Meador, Phillip (December 2022). History of On-orbit Satellite Fragmentations, 16th edition (PDF). NASA. p. 194. Retrieved 23 May 2023.