Kosmos 1261 (Russian: Космос 1261 meaning Cosmos 1261) was a Soviet US-K missile early warning satellite which was launched in 1981 as part of the Soviet military's Oko programme. The satellite was designed to identify missile launches using optical telescopes and infrared sensors.[2]
Kosmos 1261 was launched from Site 41/1 at Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Russian SSR.[3] A Molniya-M carrier rocket with a 2BL upper stage was used to perform the launch, which took place at 09:40 UTC on 31 March 1981.[3] The launch successfully placed the satellite into a molniya orbit. It subsequently received its Kosmos designation, and the international designator 1981-031A.[4] The United States Space Command assigned it the Satellite Catalog Number 12376.[4]
Kosmos 1261 was a US-K satellite like Kosmos 862 that self-destructed in orbit, NASA believe deliberately. The spacecraft attempted to maneuver
from its transfer orbit to an operational orbit 3 days after launch, but it appears that the maneuver was unsuccessful, and the
spacecraft never became ground track-stabilized. Immediately after the maneuver some debris was detected, while additional debris
were discovered in mid-May. There may have been more than one debris event. All of the resultant debris is still in orbit.[5]
^ abCite error: The named reference Podvig-History was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abcdeCite error: The named reference gunter was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abcCite error: The named reference LaunchLog was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abcdefCite error: The named reference McDowell was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Anz-Meador, Phillip (December 2022). History of On-orbit Satellite Fragmentations, 16th edition(PDF). NASA. p. 194. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
Kosmos1261 (Russian: Космос 1261 meaning Cosmos 1261) was a Soviet US-K missile early warning satellite which was launched in 1981 as part of the Soviet...
January 08:29 Kosmos-3M Plesetsk Site 132/1 RVSN Kosmos 1241 (Lira) Low Earth ASAT Target In orbit Successful Target for Kosmos 1243 and Kosmos 1258; both...
Spanish) (1st ed.). Montevideo: Banda Oriental. pp. 213–227. ISBN 978-9974-1-1261-2. Bresciano, Juan Andrés (2016). "La Tercera Roma en el Río de la Plata...
mittellateinische Goliardendichtung und ihr historischer Kontext: Komik im Kosmos der Kathedralschulen Nordfrankreichs. With an English Summary, Gießen, 2018...
Heavens", Josiah Crampton, William Hunt and Company (1876), p.164 (in German) Kosmos: Entwurf einer physischen Weltbeschreibung, Volume 4, Alexander von Humboldt...
Conference, at The Woodlands, Texas, USA, Volume: LPI Contrib. No. 2083, 1261. March 2018. Venus Evolution Through Time: Key Science Questions, Selected...
Mar. "The Debate on Religious Coercion in Ancient Christianity." Chaos e Kosmos 14 (2013): 1–16. Herbermann, Charles George, ed. (1912). "Toleration, History...
Conference, at The Woodlands, Texas, USA, Volume: LPI Contrib. No. 2083, 1261. March 2018. Molaverdikhani, Karan (2012). "The abundance and vertical distribution...