science

Kosmos 690

Kosmos 690 is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Kosmos 690 rather than just read about it. In short: Kosmos 690 or Bion 2(in Russian: Бион 2, Космос 690), was a Bion satellite launched by the Soviet Union in late 1974. Launch Kosmos 690 was launched on 22 October 1974, at 17:59:59 UTC from Plesetsk Cosmodrome with a Soyuz-U launch vehicle.

Key takeaways

Kosmos 690 belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Kosmos 690 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Kosmos 690 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Kosmos 690 or Bion 2(in Russian: Бион 2, Космос 690), was a Bion satellite launched by the Soviet Union in late 1974.

Launch Kosmos 690 was launched on 22 October 1974, at 17:59:59 UTC from Plesetsk Cosmodrome with a Soyuz-U launch vehicle. It was placed in low Earth orbit, with perigee of 223 km (139 mi), apogee of 389 km (242 mi) and orbital inclination of 62.80°, and orbital period of 98.40 minutes.

Spacecraft The spacecraft was based on the Zenit spy satellite with emphasis on studying the problems of radiation effects on human beings. It carried albino rats for biomedical research. Scientists from Czechoslovakia, Romania and Soviet Union subjected the rats to daily radiation doses from a gamma source by ground command. When they were recovered 21 days later, many rats had developed lung problems and their blood and bone marrow had changed more than those of control specimens. It had an on-orbit dry mass of 5,500 kg (12,100 lb). An instrument module in the form of 2 connected truncated cones, weighing 2,400 kg (5,300 lb), 2.43 m (8 ft 0 in) in diameter and 2.25 m (7 ft 5 in) in length, carries in most of the auxiliary instrumentation in the hermetized part. Outwardly, ball valves with compressed nitrogen are attached to the gas nozzles of the stabilizer system. At the rear, the TDU-1 braking engine is located at a stroke of 15.83 kN and a maximum operating time of 45 seconds. Hypergolic KPL delivers a turbo pump to the combustion chamber. An auxiliary container containing chemical batteries and additional experiments, cylindrical with a diameter of 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) and a height of 0.90 m (2 ft 11 in) is placed above the return module and dumped approximately a day before the landing.

Mission After 21 days, Kosmos 690 returned to Earth and landing in Kazakhstan on 12 November 1974. The return module, weighing 3,100 kg (6,800 lb) and 2.3 m (7 ft 7 in) in diameter, was covered with an ablative thermal shield 3 to 18 cm thick.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kosmos 690

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kosmos 690 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Kosmos 690 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Kosmos 690 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Kosmos 690

In research: Kosmos 690 appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Kosmos 690 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Kosmos 690 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1974 in spaceflight, 1974 in the Soviet Union, Bion satellites, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kosmos 690 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Kosmos 690 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Kosmos 690 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Kosmos 690 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kosmos 690 in simple terms?

Kosmos 690 or Bion 2(in Russian: Бион 2, Космос 690), was a Bion satellite launched by the Soviet Union in late 1974. Launch Kosmos 690 was launched on 22 October 1974, at 17:59:59 UTC from Plesetsk Cosmodrome with a Soyuz-U launch vehicle.

Why does Kosmos 690 matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Kosmos 690?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Kosmos 690.