Mission type Micrometeroid research Spacecraft type DS-U2-MP Rocket Kosmos-2I 63SM Launch date 5 June 1967 Decay date 11 October 1967 | COSPAR ID 1967-056A Launch mass 280 kilograms (620 lb) Launch site Kapustin Yar 86/1 Manufacturer Yuzhnoye Design Office | |
People also search for Kosmos 196, Kosmos 142, Kosmos 197 | ||
Kosmos 163 (Russian: Космос 163 meaning Cosmos 163), also known as DS-U2-MP No.2, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1967 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme. It was a 280-kilogram (620 lb) spacecraft, which was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and was used to investigate micrometeoroids and particles of dust in space.
A Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket was used to launch Kosmos 163 into low Earth orbit. The launch took place from Site 86/1 at Kapustin Yar. The launch occurred at 05:03:00 UTC on 5 June 1967, and resulted in the successful insertion of the satellite into orbit. Upon reaching orbit, the satellite was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1967-056A. The North American Aerospace Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 02832.
Kosmos 163 was the second of two DS-U2-MP satellites to be launched, after Kosmos 135. It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 251 kilometres (156 mi), an apogee of 549 kilometres (341 mi), 48.4 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 92.56 minutes. It decayed from its orbit and reentered the atmosphere on 11 October 1967.