Kosmos 803

Kosmos 803 (Russian: Космос 803 meaning Cosmos 803) was a satellite which was used as a target for tests of anti-satellite weapons. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1976 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme,[1] and used as a target for Kosmos 804 and Kosmos 814, as part of the Istrebitel Sputnikov programme.[2]

Kosmos 803

Mission type	ASAT target
COSPAR ID	1976-014A
SATCAT no.	08688
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	Lira
Manufacturer	Yuzhnoye
Launch mass	650 kilograms (1,430 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	12 February 1976, 13:00 (1976-02-12UTC13Z) UTC
Rocket	Kosmos-3M
Launch site	Plesetsk 132/2
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	505 kilometres (314 mi)
Apogee altitude	555 kilometres (345 mi)
Inclination	65.9 degrees
Period	95.2 minutes

It was launched aboard a Kosmos-3M carrier rocket,[3] from Site 132/2 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. The launch occurred at 13:00 UTC on 12 February 1976.[4]

Kosmos 803 was placed into a low Earth orbit with a perigee of 505 kilometres (314 mi), an apogee of 555 kilometres (345 mi), 65.9 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 95.2 minutes.[1] It was used for a non-destructive intercept test, with both Kosmos 804 and Kosmos 814 intercepting it before deorbiting themselves. As of 2009, it is still in orbit.[2][5]

Kosmos 803 was the second of ten Lira satellites to be launched,[1] of which all but the first were successful. It was the first Lira satellite to successfully reach orbit. Lira was derived from the earlier DS-P1-M satellite, which it replaced.