Kosmos 222

{{Use British English|date=January 2014}}

{{Use dmy dates|date = January 2014}}

{{Infobox spaceflight

| name = Kosmos 222

| mission_type = ABM radar target

| operator =

| COSPAR_ID = 1968-044A

| SATCAT = 03272

| mission_duration = 134 days

| spacecraft_type = DS-P1-Yu

| manufacturer = Yuzhnoye

| launch_mass = 325 kg

| launch_date = 30 May 1968, 20:29:49 GMT

| launch_rocket = Kosmos-2I 63SM

| launch_site = Plesetsk, Site 133/3

| launch_contractor = Yuzhnoye

| decay_date = 11 October 1968

| orbit_epoch = 30 May 1968

| orbit_reference = Geocentric

| orbit_regime = Low Earth

| orbit_periapsis = 285 km

| orbit_apoapsis = 488 km

| orbit_inclination = 71.0°

| orbit_period = 92.3 minutes

| apsis = gee

}}

Kosmos 222 ({{langx|ru|Космос 222}} meaning Cosmos 222), known before launch as DS-P1-Yu No.12, was a Soviet satellite which was used as a radar calibration target for tests of anti-ballistic missiles. It was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and launched in 1968 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.{{cite web|url=http://www.astronautix.com/craft/dsp1yu.htm|title=DS-P1-Yu|last=Wade|first=Mark|publisher=Encyclopedia Astronautica|access-date=10 August 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120602211924/http://www.astronautix.com/craft/dsp1yu.htm|archive-date=2 June 2012|df=dmy-all}} It had a mass of {{convert|325|kg}}.

Kosmos 222 was launched from Site 133/3 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome,{{cite web|url=http://planet4589.org/space/log/launchlog.txt|title=Launch Log|last=McDowell|first=Jonathan|publisher=Jonathan's Space Page|access-date=10 August 2009}} atop a Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket. The launch occurred on 30 May 1968 at 20:29:49 GMT, and resulted in Kosmos 222's successful deployment into low Earth orbit.{{cite web|url=http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/kosmos2.htm|title=Kosmos 2|last=Wade|first=Mark|publisher=Encyclopedia Astronautica|access-date=10 August 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120618125001/http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/kosmos2.htm|archive-date=18 June 2012|df=dmy-all}} Upon reaching orbit, it was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1968-044A.

Kosmos 222 was operated in an orbit with a perigee of {{convert|285|km||abbr=}}, an apogee of {{convert|488|km||abbr=}}, an inclination of 71.0°, and an orbital period of 92.3 minutes. It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 11 October 1968.{{cite web|url=http://www.planet4589.org/space/log/satcat.txt|title=Satellite Catalog|last=McDowell|first=Jonathan|publisher=Jonathan's Space Page|access-date=10 August 2009}} It was the fourteenth of seventy nine DS-P1-Yu satellites to be launched, and the thirteenth of seventy two to successfully reach orbit.{{cite web|url=http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/ds-p1-yu.htm|title=DS-P1-Yu (11F618)|first=Gunter|last=Krebs|publisher=Gunter's Space Page|access-date=10 August 2009}}