Kosmos 461
Kosmos 461 ( meaning "Cosmos 461"), also known as DS-U2-MT No.1, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1971 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme. It was a spacecraft, which was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and was used to investigate micrometeoroids and conduct gamma ray astronomy. Launch. A Kosmos-3M carrier rocket, serial number 47119-109, was used to launch Kosmos 461 into low Earth orbit. The launch took place from Site 132/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. The launch occurred at 17:30:00 UTC on 2 December 1971, and resulted in the successful insertion  of the satellite into orbit. Orbit. Upon reaching orbit, the satellite was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1971-105A. The North American Aerospace Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 05643. Kosmos 461 was the only DS-U2-MT satellite to be launched. It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of , an apogee of , 69.2 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 94.55 minutes. It completed operations on 14 December 1972, before decaying from orbit and reentering the atmosphere on 21 February 1979.