science

Kosmos 850

Kosmos 850 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 850 rather than just read about it. In short: Kosmos 850 (Russian: Космос 850 meaning Cosmos 850), also known as DS-P1-Yu No.79, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1976 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.

Key takeaways

Kosmos 850 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 850 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Kosmos 850 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Kosmos 850 (Russian: Космос 850 meaning Cosmos 850), also known as DS-P1-Yu No.79, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1976 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 850 from Site 133/1 of the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. The launch occurred at 11:00 UTC on 26 August 1976, and resulted in the successfully insertion of the satellite into low Earth orbit. Upon reaching orbit, the satellite was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1976-084A. The North American Aerospace Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 09387. Kosmos 850 was the last of seventy nine DS-P1-Yu satellites to be launched, of which seventy two successfully achieved orbit. It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 267 kilometres (166 mi), an apogee of 479 kilometres (298 mi), 70.9 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 92 minutes. It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 16 May 1977.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kosmos 850

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kosmos 850 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 850 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 850 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 850

In research: Kosmos 850 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 850 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 850 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1976 in spaceflight, Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik program, Kosmos satellites, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kosmos 850 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 850 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Kosmos 850 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 850 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kosmos 850 in simple terms?

Why does Kosmos 850 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 850?

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 850.