Spacecraft n°: |
Russian satellite n°: |
Also called Bion 5
Launch data:
| Designation | 11536 / 79083A |
| Launch date | 25 Sep 1979 |
| Launch site | Pl, LC-41/1 |
| Launch vehicle: | Soyuz-U (11A511U) |
| Mission | Biological sat. |
| Satellite type | Bion #5 & Nauka |
| Earth orbit on: |
| Perigee / Apogee | 213 / 376 km |
| Inclination | 62,8° |
| Period | min |
Spacecraft data:
| Prime contractor | |
| Customer | |
| Platform | |
| Mass at launch | 6000 kg |
| Dry Mass | kg |
| Basic shape | |
| Dimension | |
| Solar array | |
| Stabilization | |
| DC power | |
Decay:
| Descent date: | 14 Oct 1979 |
| Lifetime: | 18.50 days. |
Mission details:
Biological experiments; embryo development, radiation medicine. Biosatellite for the continued
investigation of the effects of space flight on living organisms. Capsule recovered 52 deg 17 min N,
65 deg 30 min E. Cosmos 1129 satellite carried biological and radiation physics experiment packages
from Czechoslovakia, France, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the German Democratic Republic, the U.S. and
the U.S.S.R. The U.S. investigations onboard included a radiation physics experiment and several
biological experiments using rats, quail embryos and plants. As for all Cosmos missions, the principal
objective of Cosmos 1129 was to study the effects of space flight on biological systems, with a
particular focus on the biomedical problems observed in men and animals during space flight. A
concerted effort was made to maximize the science return from the mission. To this end, virtually
every organ and tissue from the rat specimens flown was examined by investigators. Space flight
effects on bone and muscle were examined in a series of studies on rats. Rats were also used in an
attempt to study mammalian reproductive processes in space. A study of avian embryogenesis was
carried out for the first time on this mission. Microgravity effects on plants were investigated
using carrot tissue. The radiation exposure of the spacecraft and its contents was measured in a
radiation dosimetry experiment. Thirty male specific pathogen free rats (Rattus norvegicus) of the
Wistar strain were flown onboard and served as experimental subjects for a wide variety of
physiological studies. When the experiments began, the rats were about 85 days old and weighed 300
grams on average. The flight rats were divided into five groups for experimental purposes. They were
sacrificed seven to 11 hours after landing (group 1), 32 to 37 hours after landing (group 5), six
days postflight (groups 2 and 3), or 29 days postflight (group 4). Seven more Wistar rats were flown
as part of the rat embryology experiment. Five of these were females weighing about 340 grams at
launch and two were males weighing about 260 grams. Fertilized Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix)
eggs were flown to evaluate the effects of space flight on avian embryological development. The
effects of space flight on the rate of cellular metabolism were assessed by studying the growth of
crown gall tumors in carrots (Daucus carota). Carrot cell cultures were used to determine if growth
and development of plants were affected by space flight.
Ref.: #1, #3(SD298), #15 - update: 16.02.04