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Kosmos 1514

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Kosmos 1514 / Bion 6
The "Animal restraint couch" used on Bion 6.
Mission typeBioscience
OperatorInstitute of Biomedical Problems / NASA
COSPAR ID1983-121A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.14549
Mission duration5 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeBion
ManufacturerTsSKB
Launch mass5,700 kilograms (12,600 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date14 December 1983, 07:00:00 (1983-12-14UTC07Z) UTC
RocketSoyuz-U
Launch sitePlesetsk 41/1
End of mission
Landing date19 December 1983, 04:48 (1983-12-19UTC04:49) UTC
Landing site52°42′N 62°48′E / 52.700°N 62.800°E / 52.700; 62.800 (Bion 6 spashdown)
near Rudny, Kazakh SSR, USSR
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLEO
Eccentricity0.0033052
Perigee altitude211 kilometres (131 mi)
Apogee altitude254 kilometres (158 mi)
Inclination82.3080º
Period89.3 minutes
RAAN208.1807 degrees
Argument of perigee67.3112 degrees
Mean anomaly293.1685 degrees
Mean motion16.15214355
Epoch19 December 1983,
02:51:23 UTC[1]
Revolution no.78

Bion 6 or Kosmos 1514 (in Russian: Бион 6, Космос 1514) was a biomedical spaceflight research mission that was launched on December 12, 1983. It was part of the Bion satellite program.

Mission

Two Rhesus monkeys were flown into orbit implanted with sensors to permit monitoring of carotid artery blood flow. Additionally eighteen pregnant white rats were sent to be used for studies of the effects of microgravity and radiation. The rats subsequently produced normal litters. The mission concluded after five days.

This was the first time the Soviet space agency flew monkeys in Space,[2] coming 34 years after the U.S. first put a monkey into space, and 22 years after the Soviet Union started putting humans into space.

The mission differed markedly from earlier Cosmos flights, both in terms of Soviet scientific goals and in the degree of cooperation required between the United States and the USSR. The two countries had to interact at a high level to integrate U.S. experiment hardware with the Soviet spacecraft and instrumentation systems.

Experiments focused on the effect of weightlessness on various physiological parameters. A study of circadian rhythms was concerned with the synchronization of primate motor activity, body temperature and skin temperature rhythms to a fixed light/dark cycle and to each other. Blood pressure and flow were monitored to evaluate short and long-term changes in these parameters. Changes in calcium metabolism were studied to help determine the effect of weightlessness on the skeleton. The two rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) flown on board were about three years of age and each weighed approximately 4 kilograms. Height was a constraint in selecting animals for flight. This was because a Soviet vestibule experiment required that the flight restraint couches oscillate vertically within the animal capsules. The monkeys were conditioned to sit in the restraint couches and perform tasks for food rewards.

Tasks included pressing a lever with their feet and tracking a moving light with their eyes. Monkeys were also trained to eat and drink from food and juice dispensers. The monkeys in both the flight and control groups were implanted with blood pressure, flow cuffs, and other sensors to measure several physiological parameters. An experiment was conducted to investigate space flight effects on the sensory development of the rats that spent part of their prenatal gestation period in space. Ten pregnant female Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus) were flown. Ground control groups contained the same number of rats. At the start of the flight or control experiments, the rats were at gestation day 13 of their 21-day cycle.[3]

Details

NSSDC ID
  • 1983-121A
Other Names
  • Biocosmos 6
  • Cosmos 1514
  • 14549
Launch Date/Time
December 14, 1983 at 07:00:00 UTC
On-orbit Dry Mass
5700 kg

See also

References

  1. ^ Chris Peat. COSMOS 1514. Heavens-Above. Retrieved 2016-06-18.
  2. ^ [1] Archived 27 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Mission information: Cosmos 936". NASA. Retrieved 25 May 2016. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.