Kosmos 137

Kosmos 137 (Russian: Космос 137 meaning Cosmos 137), also known as DS-U2-D No.1, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1966 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme. It was a 295 kilograms (650 lb) spacecraft, which was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and was used to investigate charged particles in the Earth's magnetosphere.^[3]

Kosmos 137

Mission type	Magnetosphere
COSPAR ID	1966-117A
SATCAT no.	02627
Mission duration	142 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	DS-U2-D
Manufacturer	Yuzhnoye
Launch mass	295 kg[1]
Start of mission
Launch date	21 December 1966 13:11:59 GMT
Rocket	Kosmos-2I 63S1
Launch site	Kapustin Yar, Site 86/1
Contractor	Yuzhnoye
End of mission
Last contact	12 May 1967
Decay date	23 November 1967
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric[2]
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	219 km
Apogee altitude	1718 km
Inclination	48.8°
Period	104.3 minutes
Epoch	21 December 1966

A Kosmos-2I 63S1 carrier rocket was used to launch Kosmos 137 into low Earth orbit. The launch took place from Site 86/1 at Kapustin Yar.^[4] The launch occurred at 13:11:59 GMT on 21 December 1966, 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 1966-117A. The North American Air Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 02627.^[1]

Kosmos 137 was the first of two DS-U2-D satellites to be launched,^[3] and was followed by Kosmos 219 (26 April 1968).^[6] It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 219 kilometres (136 mi), an apogee of 1,718 kilometres (1,068 mi), an inclination of 48.8°, and an orbital period of 104.3 minutes.^[2] It completed operations on 12 May 1967,^[7] before decaying from orbit and reentering the atmosphere on 23 November 1967.^[8]

See also

• Spaceflight portal

• 1966 in spaceflight