Also called Bion 4
Launch data:
| Designation | 10172 / 77074A |
| Launch date | 03 Aug 1977 |
| Launch site | Pl, LC-43/3 |
| Launch vehicle: | Soyuz-U (11A511U) |
| Mission | Biological sat. |
| Satellite type | Bion #4 & Nauka |
| Earth orbit on: |
| Perigee/Apogee
| 219/396
km
|
|
Inclination
|
62.8°
|
|
Period
|
90.6
min
|
Spacecraft data:
| Prime contractor | |
| Customer | |
| Platform | |
| Mass at launch | 6000 kg |
| Dry Mass | kg |
| Basic shape | |
| Dimension | |
| Solar array | |
| Stabilization | |
| DC power | |
End of life
| Decay
| 22 Aug 1977
|
| Lifetime:
| 18,60 days
|
Mission:
Biological research. Scientists from the U.S.S.R., the U.S., Czechoslovakia, France, Hungary, Poland,
Romania, Bulgaria and the German Democratic Republic conducted experiments in physics and biology on
the mission. The biosatellite was recovered at 51 deg 53 min N, 61 deg 30 min E, near Kustanay in
Central Asia after remaining in orbit for 18.5 days. A notable feature of the mission was the use
of two onboard centrifuges to rotate rat subjects throughout the flight. The artificial gravity
environment provided by continuous centrifugation was expected to counteract space flight effects
caused by microgravity. Effects caused by other space flight factors, such as the acceleration,
noise and vibration stresses of launch and reentry, were not expected to change. The effects of
space flight on various biological specimens were investigated during the mission, as during the
previous Cosmos mission. An effort was made to differentiate between spaceflight-associated effects
on rat subjects that were caused by microgravity as opposed to those that were caused by other
stresses. The effects of space flight were studied in bone and muscle, erythrocyte survival and
lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. An experiment to examine the effect of space radiation on the
retina was also carried out using rat subjects. Another study of space radiation was conducted
without using biological material, to determine various physical parameters of the different
components of radiation in space. Genetics and the aging process were studied in fruit flies.
Thirty male, specific pathogen free rats (Rattus norvegicus) of the Wistar strain were flown
onboard. At launch, they weighed 215 grams on average and were about 62 days old. Twenty of these
rats experienced microgravity during the entire mission. The remaining ten rats were subjected to
continuous centrifugation throughout flight. Fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) were used to
study development and aging in the space environment. This species was also used to study genetic
mutation rate.
Ref: #1, #3, #15 - update:16.02.04