| Kosmos 396 | |
| Mission Type: | Reconnaissance |
| Cospar Id: | 1971-014A |
| Satcat: | 4959 |
| Mission Duration: | ~13 days |
| Orbits Completed: | ~210 |
| Spacecraft Type: | Zenit-4M |
| Manufacturer: | OKB-1 |
| Launch Mass: | 6300kg (13,900lb) |
| Launch Date: | UTC |
| Launch Rocket: | Voskhod 11A57 |
| Launch Site: | Plesetsk 43/3[1] |
| Orbit Epoch: | 17 February 1971, 19:00:00 UTC[2] |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric |
| Orbit Regime: | Low Earth |
| Orbit Eccentricity: | 0.00738 |
| Orbit Periapsis: | 212km (132miles) |
| Orbit Apoapsis: | 310km (190miles) |
| Orbit Inclination: | 65.4 degrees |
| Orbit Period: | 89.4 minutes |
| Apsis: | gee |
Kosmos 396 (Russian: Космос 396 meaning Cosmos 396) was a test flight of the Zenit-4M military surveillance satellite. The Zenit satellite's purpose was high resolution photographic reconnaissance. This particular test flight returned a capsule containing exposed film.[1]