Mission type Optical imaging SATCAT no. 554 | COSPAR ID 1963-006A Mission duration 8 days Launch date 21 March 1963 | |
Launch mass 4,730.0 kilograms (10,427.9 lb) Manufacturer S. P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia | ||
Kosmos 13 (Russian: Космос 13 meaning Cosmos 13) or Zenit-2 No.9 was a Soviet optical film-return reconnaissance satellite launched in 1963. A Zenit-2 spacecraft, Kosmos 13 was the eighth of eighty-one such satellites to be launched and had a mass of 4,730.0 kilograms (10,427.9 lb).
A Vostok-2 rocket, serial number T15000-01, was used to launch Kosmos 13. The launch took place from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 08:30:01 UTC on 21 March 1963. Following its successful arrival in orbit the spacecraft received its Kosmos designation, along with the International Designator 1963-006A and the Satellite Catalog Number 554.
Kosmos 13 was operated in a low Earth orbit. On 23 March 1963 it had a perigee of 201 kilometres (125 mi), an apogee of 317 kilometres (197 mi), with inclination of 64.9 degrees and an orbital period of 89.69 minutes. After eight days in orbit, the spacecraft was deorbited on 29 March 1963, with its return capsule descending by parachute for recovery. In addition to its reconnaissance payload, Kosmos 13 also carried an experiment to measure radiation levels in its environment.