Mission type Bioscience SATCAT no. 07478 Spacecraft type Bion | COSPAR ID 1974-080A Mission duration 20.5 days Launch date 22 October 1974 | |
Operator Institute of Biomedical Problems Similar Kosmos 936, Kosmos 1129, Kosmos 1514, Kosmos 1667, NOAA‑4 | ||
Kosmos 690, or Bion 2 (in Russian: Бион 2, Космос 690) was a Bion satellite launched by the Soviet Union on October 22, 1974 at 1800 hours UTC.
Mission
It carried albino rats for biomedical research. Scientists from Czechoslovakia, Romania and Soviet Union subjected the rats to daily radiation doses from a gamma source by ground command. When they were recovered 20.5 days later, many rats had developed lung problems and their blood and bone marrow had changed more than those of control specimens. It had an on-orbit dry mass of 5500 kilograms and had a U.S. National Space Science Data Centre ID of 1974-080A.
The spacecraft was based on the Zenit spy satellite with emphasis on studying the problems of radiation effects on human beings.
It was also known as Biocosmos 2, Cosmos 690 and 07478.