Mission type Optical imaging SATCAT no. 2693 Spacecraft type Zenit-2 Rocket Vostok-2 | COSPAR ID 1967-017A Mission duration 8 days Launch date 27 February 1967 | |
Launch mass 1,730.0 kilograms (3,814.0 lb) Manufacturer S. P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia People also search for Kosmos 138, Kosmos 147, Kosmos 152 | ||
Kosmos 143 (Russian: Космос 143 meaning Cosmos 143) or Zenit-2 No.45 was a Soviet optical film-return reconnaissance satellite launched in 1967. A Zenit-2 spacecraft, Kosmos 143 was the forty-sixth of eighty-one such satellites to be launched and had a mass of 1,730.0 kilograms (3,814.0 lb).
Kosmos 143 was launched by a Vostok-2 rocket, serial number U15001-03, flying from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The launch took place at 08:45:01 UTC on 27 February 1967, and following its arrival in orbit the spacecraft received its Kosmos designation; along with the International Designator 1967-017A and the Satellite Catalog Number 2693. A minor anomaly during launch resulted in the satellite's orbit being slightly lower than had been planned, with its orbital period being 22.8 seconds shorter than the target orbit. Despite this the satellite performed its mission successfully.
Kosmos 143 was operated in a low Earth orbit; at an epoch of 1 March 1967 it had a perigee of 202 kilometres (126 mi), an apogee of 294 kilometres (183 mi) inclination of 64.9 degrees and an orbital period of 89.46 minutes. After eight days in orbit, Kosmos 143 was deorbited, with its return capsule descending under parachute and landing at 05:46 UTC on 7 March 1967.