| Mission type | ABM radar target |
|---|---|
| COSPAR ID | 1975-003A |
| SATCAT no. | 07611 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | DS-P1-Yu |
| Manufacturer | Yuzhnoye |
| Launch mass | 400 kilograms (880 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 21 January 1975, 11:04:57 UTC |
| Rocket | Kosmos-2I 63SM |
| Launch site | Plesetsk 133/1 |
| End of mission | |
| Decay date | 20 November 1975 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee altitude | 197 kilometres (122 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 1,430 kilometres (890 mi) |
| Inclination | 81.9 degrees |
| Period | 101.2 minutes |
Kosmos 703 (Russian: Космос 703 meaning Cosmos 703), also known as DS-P1-Yu No.70, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1975 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme. It was a 400-kilogram (880 lb) spacecraft, which was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and was used as a radar calibration target for anti-ballistic missile tests.[1]
A Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket was used to launch Kosmos 703 from Site 133/1 of the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.[2] The launch occurred at 11:04:57 UTC on 21 January 1975, and resulted in the satellite successfully reaching low Earth orbit.[3] Upon reaching orbit, the satellite was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1975-003A.[4] The North American Aerospace Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 07611.
Kosmos 703 was the seventy-fourth of seventy nine DS-P1-Yu satellites to be launched,[1] and the sixty-seventh of seventy two to successfully reach orbit.[5] It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 197 kilometres (122 mi), an apogee of 1,430 kilometres (890 mi), 81.9 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 101.2 minutes.[6] It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 20 November 1975.[6]
