| Kosmos 909 | |
| Mission Type: | ASAT target |
| Cospar Id: | 1977-036A |
| Spacecraft Type: | Lira |
| Manufacturer: | Yuzhnoye |
| Launch Date: | UTC |
| Launch Rocket: | Kosmos-3M |
| Launch Site: | Plesetsk 132/2 |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric |
| Orbit Regime: | Low Earth |
| Orbit Inclination: | 65.9 degrees |
| Orbit Period: | 117 minutes |
| Apsis: | gee |
Kosmos 909 (Russian: Космос 909 meaning Cosmos 909) was a satellite which was used as a target for tests of anti-satellite weapons. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1977 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme,[1] and used as a target for Kosmos 910 and Kosmos 918, as part of the Istrebitel Sputnikov programme.[2]
It was launched aboard a Kosmos-3M carrier rocket,[3] from Site 132/2 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. The launch occurred at 16:30 UTC on 19 May 1977.[4]
Kosmos 909 was placed into a low Earth orbit with a perigee of, an apogee of, 65.9 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 117 minutes.[1] Attempted interceptions by Kosmos 910 and 918 on 23 May and 17 June respectively failed, and as of 2009 Kosmos 909 remains in orbit.[2] [5]
Kosmos 909 was the fifth of ten Lira satellites to be launched,[1] of which all but the first were successful. Lira was derived from the earlier DS-P1-M satellite, which it replaced.