Cosmos 1220 is a Soviet naval reconnaisance satellite launched from the
Baikonur cosmodrome aboard a Tsyklon 2 rocket. This naval forces monitoring
spacecraft was used to determine the position of enemy naval forces through
detection and triangulation of their electrmagnetic emissions (radio, radar,
etc). It was launched on 04 November 1980.
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On this image the satellite measures about 40 pixels in
height. The image has been doubled in size from the original capture at
720x576 so use 20 pixels in the size
formula
Size=20x0.001144x555=12.7m
Image taken with JVC CamCorder, 18mm eyepiece and x10 zoom at f6.3
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| At 21:21:30UTC Cosmos 1220 flared. A few
moments before it was much fainter. The flare image was taken with the
finder camera. This has a 135mm telephoto lens operating at f2.8. The
image width is 2.1 degrees. The object in the field with the flare is
actually a reflection. |
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