Kosmos 16
{{Short description|Soviet reconnaissance satellite (Zenit 2-10)}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name = Kosmos 16
| names_list = Zenit 2-10
| image = Zenit space vehicle.jpg
| image_caption = A Zenit reentry capsule
| mission_type = Optical imaging reconnaissance
| operator =
| COSPAR_ID = 1963-012A
| SATCAT = 571
| mission_duration = 10 days
| spacecraft_type = Zenit-2
| manufacturer = OKB-1
| launch_date = 28 April 1963, 09:36:00 GMT
| launch_rocket = Vostok-2
| launch_contractor = OKB-1
| disposal_type = Recovered
| landing_date = 8 May 1963
| landing_site = Steppe in Kazakhstan
| orbit_epoch = 28 April 1963
| orbit_reference = Geocentric
| orbit_regime = Low Earth
| orbit_periapsis = 194 km
| orbit_apoapsis = 388 km
| orbit_inclination = 65.0°
| orbit_period = 90.4 minutes
| apsis = gee
| programme = Zenit programme
Zenit-2
| previous_mission = Zenit 2-9
| next_mission = Zenit 2-11
| programme2 = Kosmos (satellites)
| previous_mission2 = Kosmos 15
| next_mission2 = Kosmos 17
}}
Kosmos 16 ({{langx|ru|Космос 16}} meaning Cosmos 16) or Zenit-2 No.10 was a Soviet optical film-return reconnaissance satellite which was launched in 1963. A Zenit-2 satellite, Kosmos 16 was the tenth of eighty-one such spacecraft to be launched.{{cite web|url=http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/zenit-2.htm|title=Zenit-2 (11F61) |first=Gunter|last=Krebs|work=Gunter's Space Page|accessdate=13 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111231133235/http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/zenit-2.htm|archive-date=31 December 2011 |url-status=dead}}{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.astronautix.com/craft/zenit2.htm|title=Zenit-2|first=Mark|last=Wade|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Astronautica|accessdate=13 December 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523064141/http://www.astronautix.com/craft/zenit2.htm|archivedate=23 May 2012}}
Spacecraft
Kosmos 16 was a Zenit-2 satellite, a first generation, low resolution, reconnaissance satellite derived from the Vostok spacecraft used for crewed flights, the satellites were developed by OKB-1. In addition to reconnaissance, it was also used for research into radiation in support of the Vostok programme. It had a mass of {{convert|4730|kg}}.{{Cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1963-012A|title=Cosmos 16: Display 1963-012A|date=27 February 2020 |website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov|publisher=NASA|access-date=25 April 2020}} {{PD-notice}}
Mission
The Vostok-2 rocket, serial number E15000-02,{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/vosk8a92.htm|title=Vostok 8A92|first=Mark|last=Wade|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Astronautica |accessdate=13 December 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822074413/http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/vosk8a92.htm|archivedate=22 August 2016}} was used to launch Kosmos 16. The launch took place at 09:36:00 GMT on 28 April 1963, using Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Following its successful arrival in orbit the spacecraft received its Kosmos designation, along with the International Designator 1963-012A and the Satellite Catalog Number 00571.
Kosmos 16 was operated in a low Earth orbit. On 30 April 1963, it had a perigee of {{convert|194|km}}, an apogee of {{convert|388|km}}, with an inclination of 65.0°, and an orbital period of 90.4 minutes.{{Cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/displayTrajectory.action?id=1963-012A|title=Cosmos 16: Trajectory 1963-012A |date=27 February 2020|website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov|publisher=NASA|access-date=25 April 2020}} {{PD-notice}} A malfunction of the spacecraft's attitude control system resulted in the satellite being able to return only some of the images, due to the failure of the engine block stabilisation system. After ten days in orbit, the spacecraft was deorbited on 8 May 1963.{{cite web|url=http://planet4589.org/space/log/satcat.txt|title=Satellite Catalog|first=Jonathan|last=McDowell|work=Jonathan's Space Page|accessdate=13 December 2013}} Its return capsule descended under a parachute and was recovered by the Soviet forces in the steppe in Kazakhstan.
See also
{{Portal|Spaceflight}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Orbital launches in 1963}}
{{Zenit-2 satellites}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kosmos 0016}}
Category:Spacecraft launched in 1963
Category:Spacecraft which reentered in 1963
{{USSR-spacecraft-stub}}