| Kosmos 501 | |
| Mission Type: | ABM radar target |
| Cospar Id: | 1972-054A |
| Spacecraft Type: | DS-P1-Yu |
| Manufacturer: | Yuzhnoye |
| Launch Date: | UTC |
| Launch Rocket: | Kosmos-2I 63SM |
| Launch Site: | Kapustin Yar 86/4 |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric |
| Orbit Regime: | Low Earth |
| Orbit Inclination: | 48.4 degrees |
| Orbit Period: | 108.2 minutes |
| Apsis: | gee |
Kosmos 501 (ru|Космос 501 meaning Cosmos 501), known before launch as DS-P1-Yu No.50, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1972 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme. It was a 250kg (550lb) spacecraft, which was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and was used as a radar calibration target for anti-ballistic missile tests.[1]
Kosmos 501 was successfully launched into low Earth orbit at 05:59:57 UTC on 12 July 1972.[2] The launch took place from Site 86/4 at Kapustin Yar,[3] and used a Kosmos-2I 63SM carrier rocket. It was the last DS-P1-Yu satellite to be launched from Kapustin Yar. Upon reaching orbit, the satellite was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1972-054A.[4] The North American Aerospace Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 06099.
Kosmos 501 was the fifty-sixth of seventy nine DS-P1-Yu satellites to be launched,[1] and the fiftieth of seventy two to successfully reach orbit.[5] It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of, an apogee of, 48.4 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 108.2 minutes. It remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 9 May 1974.[6]