Kosmos 497

Kosmos 497 (Космос 497 meaning Cosmos 497), also known as DS-P1-I No.12 was a satellite which was used as a radar target for anti-ballistic missile tests. It was launched by the Soviet Union in 1972 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.

It was launched aboard a Kosmos-2I 63SM rocket, from Site 133/1 at Plesetsk. The launch occurred at 09:19:49 UTC on 30 June 1972.

Kosmos 497 was placed into a low Earth orbit with a perigee of 271 km, an apogee of 787 km, 70.9 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 95.2 minutes. It decayed from orbit on 7 November 1973.

Kosmos 497 was the twelfth of nineteen DS-P1-I satellites to be launched. Of these, all reached orbit successfully except the seventh.