Kosmos 16

A Zenit reentry capsule
Names	Zenit 2-10
Mission type	Optical imaging reconnaissance
COSPAR ID	1963-012A
SATCAT no.	571
Mission duration	10 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	Zenit-2
Manufacturer	OKB-1
Launch mass	4730 kg[1]
Start of mission
Launch date	28 April 1963, 09:36:00 GMT
Rocket	Vostok-2
Launch site	Baikonur 1/5
Contractor	OKB-1
End of mission
Disposal	Recovered
Landing date	8 May 1963
Landing site	Steppe in Kazakhstan
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric[2]
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	194 km
Apogee altitude	388 km
Inclination	65.0°
Period	90.4 minutes
Epoch	28 April 1963
Zenit programme Zenit-2 ← Zenit 2-9 Zenit 2-11 →   Kosmos (satellites) ← Kosmos 15 Kosmos 17 →

Kosmos 16 (Russian: 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.^[3][4]

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 4,730 kilograms (10,430 lb).^[1]

Mission

The Vostok-2 rocket, serial number E15000-02,^[5] 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.^[1]

Kosmos 16 was operated in a low Earth orbit. On 30 April 1963, it had a perigee of 194 kilometres (121 mi), an apogee of 388 kilometres (241 mi), with an inclination of 65.0°, and an orbital period of 90.4 minutes.^[2] 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.^[1] After ten days in orbit, the spacecraft was deorbited on 8 May 1963.^[6] Its return capsule descended under a parachute and was recovered by the Soviet forces in the steppe in Kazakhstan.

See also

• 1963 in spaceflight

References

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