Kosmos 12

Kosmos 12

Mission type	Optical imaging
Harvard designation	1962 Beta Omega 1
SATCAT №	517
Mission duration	8 days[1]
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	Zenit-2
Manufacturer	OKB-1
Launch mass	4,730.0 kilograms (10,427.9 lb)[1]
Start of mission
Launch date	22 December 1962, 09:23 UTC[2]
Rocket	Vostok-2
Launch site	Baikonur 1/5
End of mission
Disposal	Recovered
Landing date	30 December 1962
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee	199 kilometres (124 mi)
Apogee	386 kilometres (240 mi)
Inclination	64.9 degrees
Period	90.37 minutes
Epoch	24 December 1962[3]

Kosmos 12 (Russian: Космос 12 meaning Cosmos 12) or Zenit-2 No.6 was a Soviet optical film-return reconnaissance satellite launched in 1962. A Zenit-2 spacecraft, Kosmos 12 was the seventh of eighty-one such satellites to be launched^[4][5] and had a mass of 4,730.0 kilograms (10,427.9 lb).^[1]

A Vostok-2 rocket, serial number T15000-10, was used to launch Kosmos 12. The launch took place from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 09:23 UTC on 22 December 1962.^[2] Following its successful arrival in orbit the spacecraft received its Kosmos designation, along with the Harvard designation 1962 Beta Omega 1 and the Satellite Catalog Number 517.^[1]

Kosmos 12 was operated in a low Earth orbit. On 24 December 1962 it had a perigee of 199 kilometres (124 mi), an apogee of 386 kilometres (240 mi), with inclination of 64.9 degrees and an orbital period of 90.37 minutes. On 30 December 1962 the spacecraft was deorbited, with its return capsule descending by parachute for recovery.^[3][5]

References

1. "Cosmos 12". National Space Science Data Center. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
2. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
3. McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
4. Krebs, Gunter. "Zenit-2 (11F61)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
5. Wade, Mark. "Zenit-2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 13 December 2013.