Interkosmos 22, more commonly known as Bulgaria 1300 (Bulgarian: Интеркосмос 22-България 1300), was Bulgaria's first artificial satellite.
Mission type | Science |
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Operator | BSA |
COSPAR ID | 1981-075A ![]() |
SATCAT no. | 12645![]() |
Spacecraft properties | |
Manufacturer | BAC BAS SSA[citation needed] |
Launch mass | 1,500 kilograms (3,300 lb) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 7 August 1981, 13:35 (1981-08-07UTC13:35Z) UTC |
Rocket | Vostok-2M |
Launch site | Plesetsk 43/3 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | Low Earth |
Perigee altitude | 825 kilometres (513 mi) |
Apogee altitude | 906 kilometres (563 mi) |
Inclination | 81.2 degrees |
Period | 101.6 |
Epoch | Epoch start: 1981-08-06 20:00:00 UTC |
It was named after the 1300th anniversary of the foundation of the Bulgarian state. It was designed to study the ionosphere and magnetosphere of the Earth.[1]
The satellite was developed by the Bulgarian Space Agency around the "Meteor" bus, provided by the Soviet Union as part of the Interkosmos program.[2] Assembly took place in Bulgaria, and the spacecraft was launched from Plesetsk in 13:35 local time on 7 August 1981.[3] During that same year the Bulgarian government organized a massive celebration to commemorate the 1300th anniversary of the country's founding.
Interkosmos 22 was successfully inserted in a near-polar orbit. The outer skin of the spacecraft, including the solar panels, is coated with a conducting material in order to allow the proper measurement of electric fields and low energy plasma. Power is provided by the two solar panels, which generate 2 kW of electricity. A rechargeable battery pack is used as an energy supply when the spacecraft is in an eclipse period. Gathered data is stored on two tape recorders, each with a capacity of 60 megabits. The main transmitter radiates 10 W in the 130-MHz band. No operational limit was planned. As of 2009, the satellite was operational and it is still on BSA's list of active programs. It provides data about the extraterrestrial environment over Earth's polar regions.[4]
The satellite contains a large set of scientific devices, designed and built in Bulgaria:
Interkosmos programme | ||
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Satellites |
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Manned flights |
← 1980 · Orbital launches in 1981 · 1982 → | |
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Kosmos 1237 | Molniya-3 No.25 | Kosmos 1238 | Kosmos 1239 | Kosmos 1240 | Kosmos 1241 | Musson No.11 | Progress 12 | Kosmos 1242 | Molniya 1-49 | Kosmos 1243 | Interkosmos 21 | Kiku 3 | Kosmos 1244 | Kosmos 1245 | Kosmos 1246 | Kosmos 1247 | Hinotori | Comstar D4 | OPS 1166 | Kosmos 1248 | Kosmos 1249 | Kosmos 1250 · Kosmos 1251 · Kosmos 1252 · Kosmos 1253 · Kosmos 1254 · Kosmos 1255 · Kosmos 1256 · Kosmos 1257 | Soyuz T-4 | Kosmos 1258 | OPS 7350 | Kosmos 1259 | Gran' No.18L | Kosmos 1260 | Soyuz 39 | Molniya-3 No.24 | Yantar-2K No.979 | Kosmos 1261 | Kosmos 1262 | Kosmos 1263 | STS-1 | Kosmos 1264 | Kosmos 1265 | Kosmos 1266 | OPS 7225 | Kosmos 1267 | Kosmos 1268 | Kosmos 1269 | Soyuz 40 | Meteor-2 No.8 | Nova-1 | Kosmos 1270 | Kosmos 1271 | Kosmos 1272 | Kosmos 1273 | GOES 5 | Intelsat V F-1 | Rohini RS-D1 | Kosmos 1274 | Kosmos 1275 | Molniya-3 No.30 | Kosmos 1276 | Kosmos 1277 | Meteosat 2 · APPLE · CAT-3 | Kosmos 1278 | NOAA-7 | Molniya 1-50 | Ekran No.21L | Kosmos 1279 | Kosmos 1280 | Kosmos 1281 | Meteor-Priroda 2-4 · Iskra 1 | Kosmos 1282 | Kosmos 1283 | Kosmos 1284 | Gran' No.19L | DE-1 · DE-2 | Kosmos 1285 | Kosmos 1286 | FLTSATCOM 5 | Kosmos 1287 · Kosmos 1288 · Kosmos 1289 · Kosmos 1290 · Kosmos 1291 · Kosmos 1292 · Kosmos 1293 · Kosmos 1294 | Bulgaria 1300 | Himawari 2 | Kosmos 1295 | Kosmos 1296 | Kosmos 1297 | Kosmos 1298 | Kosmos 1299 | Kosmos 1300 | Kosmos 1301 | Kosmos 1302 | OPS 3984 | Kosmos 1303 | Kosmos 1304 | Kosmos 1305 | Kosmos 1306 | Kosmos 1307 | Kosmos 1308 | Kosmos 1309 | Shijian 2 · Shijian 2-01 · Shijian 2-02 | Oreol 3 | Kosmos 1310 | SBS 2 | Kosmos 1311 | Kosmos 1312 | Kosmos 1313 | SME · UoSAT-1 | Kosmos 1314 | Gran' No.20L | Kosmos 1315 | Kosmos 1316 | Molniya-3 No.31 | Venera 13 | OPS 4029 | Kosmos 1317 | Kosmos 1318 | Venera 14 | STS-2 | Kosmos 1319 | Molniya 1-51 | Satcom 3R | Bhaskara 2 | Kosmos 1320 · Kosmos 1321 · Kosmos 1322 · Kosmos 1323 · Kosmos 1324 · Kosmos 1325 · Kosmos 1326 · Kosmos 1327 | Kosmos 1328 | Kosmos 1329 | Intelsat V F-3 | RS-3 · RS-4 · RS-5 · RS-6 · RS-7 · RS-8 | Navstar 7 | Kosmos 1330 | MARECS-1 · CAT-4 | Molniya-1 No.55 | |
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). |