Kosmos 212

Kosmos 212 (Russian: Космос 212 meaning Cosmos 212) was one of a series of Soviet Soyuz programme test spacecraft whose purpose was to further test and develop the passenger version. Scientific data and measurements were relayed to earth by multichannel telemetry systems equipped with space-borne memory units. Kosmos 212 and Kosmos 213 automatically docked in orbit on 15 April 1968. Both spacecraft landed on Soviet territory.

Kosmos 212

Mission type	Uncrewed spacecraft
Operator	OKB-1
COSPAR ID	1968-029A
SATCAT no.	03183
Mission duration	5 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Soyuz
Spacecraft type	Soyuz 7K-OK # 8
Manufacturer	OKB-1
Launch mass	6000 kg[1]
Start of mission
Launch date	14 April 1968, 10:00:00 GMT
Rocket	Soyuz 11A511 s/n Ya15000-09
Launch site	Baikonur, Site 31/6
Contractor	OKB-1
End of mission
Landing date	19 April 1968
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric[2]
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	186 km
Apogee altitude	225 km
Inclination	51.7°
Period	88.75 minutes
Epoch	14 April 1968
Docking with Kosmos 213
Docking date	15 April 1968
Undocking date	15 April 1968

Mission

On 14 April 1968 at 10:00:00 GMT,^[3] the Soyuz 11A511 s/n Ya15000-09 booster and Kosmos 212 were set up at Site 31/6 of Baikonur Cosmodrome and the planned mission could be carried out. Kosmos 212 was operated in a low Earth orbit, it had a perigee of 186 kilometres (116 mi), an apogee of 225 kilometres (140 mi), an inclination of 51.7°, and an orbital period of 88.75 minutes,^[2] and had a mass of 6,000 kilograms (13,000 lb).^[1]

• Number of orbits: ~80