Kosmos 487

Kosmos 487 (Russian: Космос 487 meaning Cosmos 487), known before launch as DS-P1-Yu No.57, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1972 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme. It was a 325-kilogram (717 lb) spacecraft, which was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and was used as a radar calibration target for anti-ballistic missile tests.[1]

Kosmos 487

Mission type	ABM radar target
COSPAR ID	1972-033A
SATCAT no.	06006
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	DS-P1-Yu
Manufacturer	Yuzhnoye
Launch mass	325 kilograms (717 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	21 April 1972, 11:59:59 (1972-04-21UTC11:59:59Z) UTC
Rocket	Kosmos-2I 63SM
Launch site	Plesetsk 133/1
End of mission
Decay date	24 September 1972 (1972-09-25)
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	262 kilometres (163 mi)
Apogee altitude	468 kilometres (291 mi)
Inclination	70.9 degrees
Period	91.8 minutes

Kosmos 487 was successfully launched into low Earth orbit at 11:59:59 UTC on 21 April 1972.[2] The launch took place from Site 133/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome,[3] and used a Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket. Upon reaching orbit, the satellite was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1972-033A.[4] The North American Aerospace Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 06006.

Kosmos 487 was the fifty-third of seventy nine DS-P1-Yu satellites to be launched,[1] and the forty-eighth of seventy two to successfully reach orbit.[5] It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 262 kilometres (163 mi), an apogee of 468 kilometres (291 mi), 70.9 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 91.8 minutes.[1][6] It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 24 September 1972.[6]