Kosmos_1241
Kosmos 1241 (Russian: Космос 1241 meaning Cosmos 1241) was a target satellite which was used by the Soviet Union in the 1980s for tests of anti-satellite weapons as part of the Istrebitel Sputnikov programme.[1] It was launched in 1981, and was itself part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.[2] It was a target for Kosmos 1243 and Kosmos 1258.
It was launched at 08:29 UTC on 21 January 1981,[3] using a Kosmos-3M carrier rocket,[4] flying from Site 132/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Northwest Russia.
Kosmos 1241 was placed into a low Earth orbit with a perigee of 989 kilometres (615 mi), an apogee of 995 kilometres (618 mi), 65.8 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 105 minutes.[2] It was intercepted by Kosmos 1243 on 2 February. This was intended to have been a destructive test; however, the explosive charge aboard Kosmos 1243 failed to detonate. Kosmos 1258 attempted to intercept it on 14 March; however, it failed. As of 2009, Kosmos 1241 is still orbiting the Earth.[1][5]
Kosmos 1241 was the ninth of ten Lira satellites to be launched,[2] of which all but the first were successful. Lira was derived from the earlier DS-P1-M satellite, which it replaced. Kosmos 1241 was also the penultimate satellite to be launched as part of the DS programme, which concluded with Kosmos 1375 in June 1982.
