Pion

Class: Earth. Type: Atmosphere. Destination: Surveillance Orbit. Nation: Russia. Agency: MOM. Manufacturer: Kozlov.

Deployed from Resurs F1, which carried two passive separable "Pion" probes to investigate upper atmospheric density.

Typical orbit: 219 km x 229 km at 83 degrees inclination. Mass: 67 kg (147 lb). Associated Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 11A511U.

Pion Chronology

1989 July 18 - Pion - Launch Site: Plesetsk. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 11A511U. Perigee: 254 km (157 mi). Apogee: 271 km (168 mi). Inclination: 82.50 deg. Period: 89.76 min.

1989 July 18 - Pion - Launch Site: Plesetsk. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 11A511U. Mass: 78 kg (171 lb). Perigee: 254 km (157 mi). Apogee: 271 km (168 mi). Inclination: 82.50 deg. Period: 89.76 min.
Deployed from Resurs F3 8/7/89; passive atmospheric research. Resurs-F: Investigation of the natural resources of the earth in the interests of various branches of the Soviet economy and international cooperation. Satellite carries two passive separable 'Pion' probes to investigate upper atmospheric density.

1989 May 25 - Pion - Launch Site: Plesetsk. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 11A511U. Mass: 78 kg (171 lb). Perigee: 132 km (82 mi). Apogee: 144 km (89 mi). Inclination: 82.30 deg. Period: 87.30 min.
Deployed from Resurs F1 6/9/89; passive atmosphere research. Resurs-F: Investigation of the natural resources of the earth in the interests of various branches of the Soviet economy and international cooperation. Satellite carries two passive separable 'Pion' probes to investigate upper atmospheric density.

1989 May 25 - Pion - Launch Site: Plesetsk. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 11A511U. Mass: 78 kg (171 lb). Perigee: 140 km (80 mi). Apogee: 147 km (91 mi). Inclination: 82.30 deg. Period: 87.40 min.
Deployed from Resurs F1 6/9/89; passive atmosphere research. Resurs-F: Investigation of the natural resources of the earth in the interests of various branches of the Soviet economy and international cooperation. Satellite carries two passive separable 'Pion' probes to investigate upper atmospheric density.

1992 August 19 - Pion 1 - Launch Site: Plesetsk. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 11A511U. Mass: 50 kg (110 lb). Perigee: 219 km (136 mi). Apogee: 229 km (142 mi). Inclination: 82.60 deg. Period: 89.00 min.
Deployed from Resurs F16; examined how upper atmosphere affects spacecraft reentries.

1992 August 19 - Pion 2 - Launch Site: Plesetsk. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 11A511U. Mass: 50 kg (110 lb). Perigee: 218 km (135 mi). Apogee: 229 km (142 mi). Inclination: 82.60 deg. Period: 89.00 min.
Deployed from Resurs F16; examined how upper atmosphere affects spacecraft reentries.

Bibliography and Further Reading

USAF Satellite Database, USAF Institute of Technology, 1995. Accessed at: ftp://archive.afit.af.mil/pub/space/.

McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page, Harvard University, 1997-present. Jonathan McDowell's complete on-line listing of all objects orbited and over 20,000 rocket launches Accessed at: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.

JPL Mission and Spacecraft Library, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1997. Accessed at: http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/home.html.

NASA GSFC Orbital Parameters, .

McDowell, Jonathan, Launch Log, October 1998. Jonathan McDowell's complete on-line listing of all objects orbited since Sputnik. Accessed at: http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~jcm/space/log/launch.html.

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