| Kosmos 8 | |
| Mission Type: | Military technology Micrometeorite |
| Harvard Designation: | 1962 Alpha Xi 1 |
| Cospar Id: | 1962-038A |
| Satcat: | 00367 |
| Mission Duration: | 364 jours |
| Spacecraft Type: | DS-K-8 |
| Manufacturer: | Yuzhnoye |
| Launch Mass: | 337 kg |
| Power: | Batteries |
| Launch Date: | 18 August 1962 05:02:00 GMT |
| Launch Rocket: | Kosmos-2I 63S1 |
| Launch Site: | Kapustin Yar, Mayak-2 |
| Launch Contractor: | Yuzhnoye |
| Decay Date: | 17 August 1963 |
| Orbit Epoch: | 18 August 1962 |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric |
| Orbit Regime: | Low Earth |
| Orbit Periapsis: | 251 km |
| Orbit Apoapsis: | 591 km |
| Orbit Inclination: | 49.0° |
| Orbit Period: | 92.9 minutes |
| Apsis: | gee |
Kosmos 8 (Russian: Космос 8 meaning Cosmos 8), also known as DS-K-8 No.1 and occasionally in the West as Sputnik 18 was a technology demonstration satellite which was launched by the Soviet Union in 1962. It was the eighth satellite to be designated under the Kosmos system, and the third spacecraft launched as part of the DS programme to successfully reach orbit, after Kosmos 1 and Kosmos 6. Its primary mission was to demonstrate the technologies of SIGINT for future Soviet military satellites.
Kosmos 8 was the only DS-K-8 satellite to be launched.[1] It also carried a micrometeorite detector payload which discovered meteoroid flux.[2] It had a mass of .[3]
This satellite tested the Kust-8 SIGINT equipment in orbit.[4] It was launched aboard of the eighth flight of the Kosmos-2I 63S1 rocket.[5] The launch was conducted from Mayak-2 at Kapustin Yar, and occurred at 05:02:00 GMT on 18 August 1962.[6] Kosmos 8 was placed into a low Earth orbit with a perigee of, an apogee of, an inclination of 49.0°, and an orbital period of 92.9 minutes.[7] It decayed on 17 August 1963, one day short of a year after its launch.[8]