Mission type Optical imaging SATCAT no. 569 | COSPAR ID 1963-011A Mission duration 5 days Launch date 22 April 1963 | |
Launch mass 4,730.0 kilograms (10,427.9 lb) Manufacturer S. P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia People also search for Kosmos 14, Kosmos 13, Kosmos 18 | ||
Kosmos 15 (Russian: Космос 15 meaning Cosmos 15) or Zenit-2 No.8 was a Soviet optical film-return reconnaissance satellite which was launched in 1963. A Zenit-2 spacecraft, Kosmos 15 was the ninth 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 T15000-08, was used to launch Kosmos 15. The launch took place at 08:30 UTC on 22 April 1963, using Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Following its successful arrival in orbit the spacecraft received its Kosmos designation, along with the International Designator 1963-011A and the Satellite Catalog Number 569. In addition to reconnaissance, Kosmos 15 carried an experiment package to measure radiation levels in its environment and was also used for meteorological research.
Kosmos 15 was operated in a low Earth orbit. On 24 April 1963 it had a perigee of 160 kilometres (99 mi), an apogee of 357 kilometres (222 mi), with inclination of 64.9 degrees and an orbital period of 89.67 minutes. Having spent five days in orbit, the spacecraft was deorbited on 27 April 1963. Its return capsule descended under parachute and was recovered by Soviet forces.