| Mission type | ABM radar target |
|---|---|
| COSPAR ID | 1976-044A |
| SATCAT no. | 08851 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | DS-P1-Yu |
| Manufacturer | Yuzhnoye |
| Launch mass | 400 kilograms (880 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 18 May 1976, 11:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Kosmos-2I 63SM |
| Launch site | Plesetsk 133/1 |
| End of mission | |
| Decay date | 7 March 1977 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee altitude | 267 kilometres (166 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 468 kilometres (291 mi) |
| Inclination | 71 degrees |
| Period | 91.9 minutes |
Kosmos 818 (Russian: Космос 818 meaning Cosmos 818), also known as DS-P1-Yu No.78, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1976 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 818 from Site 133/1 of the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.[2] The launch occurred at 11:00 UTC on 18 May 1976, and resulted in the successfully insertion of the satellite into low Earth orbit.[3] Upon reaching orbit, the satellite was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1976-044A.[4] The North American Aerospace Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 08851.
Kosmos 818 was the seventy-eighth and penultimate DS-P1-Yu satellite to be launched,[1] and the seventy-first to successfully reach orbit.[5] It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 267 kilometres (166 mi), an apogee of 468 kilometres (291 mi), 71 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 91.9 minutes.[6] It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 7 March 1977.[6]
