Kosmos 8

Kosmos 8 (Космос 8 meaning Cosmos 8), also known as DS-K-8 No.1 and occasionally in the West as Sputnik 18 was a technology demonstration satellite which was launched by the Soviet Union in 1962. It was the eighth satellite to be designated under the Kosmos system, and the third spacecraft launched as part of the DS programme to successfully reach orbit, after Kosmos 1 and Kosmos 6. Its primary mission was to demonstrate the technologies of SIGINT for future Soviet military satellites.

Spacecraft
Kosmos 8 was the only DS-K-8 satellite to be launched. It also carried a micrometeorite detector payload which discovered meteoroid flux. It had a mass of 337 kg.

Mission
This satellite tested the Kust-8 SIGINT equipment in orbit. It was launched aboard of the eighth flight of the Kosmos-2I 63S1 rocket. The launch was conducted from Mayak-2 at Kapustin Yar, and occurred at 05:02:00 GMT on 18 August 1962. Kosmos 8 was placed into a low Earth orbit with a perigee of 251 km, an apogee of 591 km, an inclination of 49.0°, and an orbital period of 92.9 minutes. It decayed on 17 August 1963, one day short of a year after its launch.