Kosmos 703

Kosmos 703
Mission typeABM radar target
COSPAR ID1975-003A
SATCAT no.07611
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeDS-P1-Yu
ManufacturerYuzhnoye
Launch mass400 kilograms (880 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date21 January 1975, 11:04:57 (1975-01-21UTC11:04:57Z) UTC
RocketKosmos-2I 63SM
Launch sitePlesetsk 133/1
End of mission
Decay date20 November 1975 (1975-11-21)
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude197 kilometres (122 mi)
Apogee altitude1,430 kilometres (890 mi)
Inclination81.9 degrees
Period101.2 minutes

Kosmos 703 (Russian: Космос 703 meaning Cosmos 703), also known as DS-P1-Yu No.70, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1975 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.

A Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket was used to launch Kosmos 703 from Site 133/1 of the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. The launch occurred at 11:04:57 UTC on 21 January 1975, and resulted in the satellite successfully reaching low Earth orbit. Upon reaching orbit, the satellite was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1975-003A. The North American Aerospace Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 07611.

Kosmos 703 was the seventy-fourth of seventy nine DS-P1-Yu satellites to be launched, and the sixty-seventh of seventy two to successfully reach orbit. It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 197 kilometres (122 mi), an apogee of 1,430 kilometres (890 mi), 81.9 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 101.2 minutes. It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 20 November 1975.