| Mission type | ASAT target |
|---|---|
| COSPAR ID | 1976-014A |
| SATCAT no. | 08688 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Lira |
| Manufacturer | Yuzhnoye |
| Launch mass | 650 kilograms (1,430 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 12 February 1976, 13:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Kosmos-3M |
| Launch site | Plesetsk 132/2 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee altitude | 505 kilometres (314 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 555 kilometres (345 mi) |
| Inclination | 65.9 degrees |
| Period | 95.2 minutes |
Kosmos 803 (Russian: Космос 803 meaning Cosmos 803) was a satellite which was used as a target for tests of anti-satellite weapons. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1976 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme,[1] and used as a target for Kosmos 804 and Kosmos 814, as part of the Istrebitel Sputnikov programme.[2]
It was launched aboard a Kosmos-3M carrier rocket,[3] from Site 132/2 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. The launch occurred at 13:00 UTC on 12 February 1976.[4]
Kosmos 803 was placed into a low Earth orbit with a perigee of 505 kilometres (314 mi), an apogee of 555 kilometres (345 mi), 65.9 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 95.2 minutes.[1] It was used for a non-destructive intercept test, with both Kosmos 804 and Kosmos 814 intercepting it before deorbiting themselves. As of 2009, it is still in orbit.[2][5]
Kosmos 803 was the second of ten Lira satellites to be launched,[1] of which all but the first were successful. It was the first Lira satellite to successfully reach orbit. Lira was derived from the earlier DS-P1-M satellite, which it replaced.
