Kosmos 381
| Mission type | Ionospheric science | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Soviet space program | ||||||||||||
| COSPAR ID | 1970-102A | ||||||||||||
| SATCAT no. | 4783 | ||||||||||||
| Mission duration | 54 years, 6 months, 18 days (in orbit) | ||||||||||||
| Spacecraft properties | |||||||||||||
| Spacecraft type | Ionosfernaya | ||||||||||||
| Bus | KAUR-1 | ||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | OKB-10 | ||||||||||||
| Launch mass | 710 kg (1,570 lb) | ||||||||||||
| Start of mission | |||||||||||||
| Launch date | December 2, 1970, 04:00 UTC | ||||||||||||
| Rocket | Kosmos-3M 11K65M | ||||||||||||
| Launch site | Plesetsk 132/2 | ||||||||||||
| End of mission | |||||||||||||
| Disposal | Decommissioned | ||||||||||||
| Last contact | January 1971 | ||||||||||||
| Decay date | ~3170 | ||||||||||||
| Orbital parameters | |||||||||||||
| Reference system | Geocentric | ||||||||||||
| Regime | Low Earth orbit | ||||||||||||
| Perigee altitude | 961 km (597 mi) | ||||||||||||
| Apogee altitude | 1,007 km (626 mi) | ||||||||||||
| Inclination | 74° | ||||||||||||
| Period | 104.8 minutes | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Cosmos 381 (Russian: Космос 381) artificial satellite provided data on the physical characteristics of the layers of the Earth's Ionosphere using a Mayak radio transmitter. The study covered almost the entire global surface.