BION program

Russia

Development of the Bion satellite began in 1970 at the Kuybyshev Branch of the OKB-1 (now the GNPRKTs TsSKB-Progress) for conducting biomedical experiments in Earth orbit. The subcontractor for the main payload was the Moscow-based Institute of Biomedical Problems (IMBP). The spacecraft design was based on the Zenit-2M/Gektor photo-reconnaissance satellite bus.

The nominal orbit of operation for Bion was 226 X 288 km at 82.3° and lifetime was <30 days. Mass was <5400 kg of which 625 kg was actual scientific instrumentation.

Of the ten Bion missions launched to date, the last eight (beginning with Kosmos-782) have involved cooperative international ventures with the United States. U.S. scientists have used nearly 50 biological specimens in the program, ranging from viruses to mamals, and including monkeys, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, mice, tortoises, higher plants, fish, birds, and insects. Apart from the U.S., nine other countries have also participated. The European Space Agency (ESA) cooperated for the first time with Kosmos-1887.

Kosmos-1129 was the first attempt to breed rats in space.

Kosmos-1514 carried two monkeys, Abrek and Bion. It was the first time that the USSR flew monkeys in space.

Kosmos-1667 carried two monkeys, Verny and Gordy.

Kosmos-1887 carried two monkeys, Yerosha and Dryoma.

Kosmos-2044 carried two monkeys, Zhakonya and Zabikaya. Special note to Dwayne Day: the backup monkey was Zemlyanin. Apparently the prime monkeys were originally the backup crew.

Kosmos-2229 carried two Rhesus monkeys, Krosh and Ivasha.

Bion-11 carried two Macaque monkeys, Lapik and Multik. The latter died the day after landing in an episode unrelated to the monkey’s experience in space.

The Chief of the Kuybyshev Branch of the OKB-1 since 1959 has been D. I. Kozlov (from 1983, the General Designer).

 

LAUNCH HISTORY

 

Public Name

Industrial Index

OKB Name

Serial No.

Launch Time (Moscow Time)

Launch Date

Launch Vehicle

LV Serial No.

Launch Site

Length of Mission (Days)

Kosmos-605

 

12KS

1

2125

Oct 31 1973

11A511U

 

P-43/3

21.5

Kosmos-690

 

12KS

2

2100

Oct 22 1974

11A511U

 

P-43/3

20.5

Kosmos-782

 

12KS

3

2000

Nov 25 1975

11A511U

 

P-43/3

19.5

Kosmos-936

 

12KS

4

1700

Aug 3 1977

11A511U

 

P-43/3

18.6

Kosmos-1129

 

12KS

5

1830

Sep 25 1979

11A511U

 

P-41/1

18.5

Kosmos-1514

 

12KS

6

1000

Dec 14 1983

11A511U

 

P-41/1

5

Kosmos-1667

 

12KS

7

0615

Jul 10 1985

11A511U

 

P-41/1

6.9

Kosmos-1887

 

12KS

8

1550

Sep 29 1987

11A511U

 

P-41/1

13

Kosmos-2044

 

12KS

9

0930

Sep 15 1989

11A511U

 

P-41/1

14

Kosmos-2229

 

12KS

10

1630

Dec 29 1982

11A511U

 

P-43/3

12

Bion No. 11

 

12KS

11

1650:00

Dec 24 1996

11A511U

PVB 15000-050

P-43/4

15

 

SELECTED SOURCES

[1]. Phillip Clark, Jane's Space Directory, 13th ed., 1997-98 (Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Information Group, 1997), pp. 119-120.

[2]. B. Harvey, "Biosputniks: The Use by the Soviet Union and Russia of Dogs, Monkeys and Other Animals in the Exploration of Space, 1949-93," Journal of the British Interplanetary Society 46 (October 1993): 381-384.

[3]. D. I. Kozlov, ed., Konstruirovaniye avtomaticheskikh kosmicheskikh apparatov (Moscow: Mashinostroyeniye, 1996), pp. 26-27.

[4]. K. Vernyakov, "Special Preparation and Launch of the 'Bion' KA" (in Russian), Novosti kosmonavtiki 26 (December 16-31, 1996): 34-38.
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