Kosmos 20 (Russian: Космос 20 meaning Cosmos 20) or Zenit-2 No.13 was a Soviet optical film-return reconnaissance satellite which was launched in 1963. A Zenit-2 satellite, Kosmos 20 was the thirteenth of eighty-one such spacecraft to be launched.[3]
Spacecraft
Kosmos 20 was a Zenit-2 satellite, a first generation, low resolution, reconnaissance satellite derived from the Vostok spacecraft used for crewed flights, the satellites were developed by OKB-1. In addition to reconnaissance, it was also used for research into radiation in support of the Vostok programme. It had a mass of 4,730 kilograms (10,430 lb).[1]
Kosmos 20 was operated in a low Earth orbit. On 18 October 1963, it had a perigee of 205 kilometres (127 mi), an apogee of 302 kilometres (188 mi), an inclination of 65.0°, and an orbital period of 89.6 minutes.[2] Having spent eight days in orbit, the spacecraft was deorbited on 26 October 1963. Its return capsule descended under parachute and was recovered by the Soviet forces in the steppe in Kazakhstan.[6][7]
^ ab"Cosmos 20: Display 1963-040A". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. NASA. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
Payloads are separated by bullets ( · ), launches by pipes ( | ). Crewed flights are indicated in underline. Uncatalogued launch failures are listed in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are denoted in (brackets).
