Mission type Optical imaging SATCAT no. 712 | COSPAR ID 1963-052A Mission duration 9 days Launch date 19 December 1963 | |
Launch mass 4,730 kilograms (10,430 lb) Manufacturer S. P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia People also search for Kosmos 23, Kosmos 20, Kosmos 18 | ||
Kosmos 24 (Russian: Космос 24 meaning Cosmos 24) or Zenit-2 No.15 was a Soviet optical film-return reconnaissance satellite which was launched in 1963. A Zenit-2 satellite, Kosmos 24 was the fifteenth of eighty-one such spacecraft to be launched and had a mass of 4,730 kilograms (10,430 lb).
A Vostok-2 rocket, serial number G15001-03, was used to launch Kosmos 24. The launch took place at 09:28:58 UTC on 19 December 1963, from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Following its successful arrival in orbit the spacecraft received its Kosmos designation, along with the International Designator 1963-052A and the Satellite Catalog Number 712.
Kosmos 24 was operated in a low Earth orbit. On 23 December 1963 it had a perigee of 199 kilometres (124 mi), an apogee of 392 kilometres (244 mi), with inclination of 65 degrees and an orbital period of 90.43 minutes. Having spent nine days in orbit, the spacecraft was deorbited on 28 December 1963. Its return capsule descended under parachute for recovery by Soviet forces.