Bulgaria 1300

Bulgaria's first artificial satellite

Bulgaria 1300

Mission type| Science
Operator| BSA
COSPAR ID| 1981-075A
SATCAT no.| 12645
Mission duration| 34 years, 7 months and 12 days
(achieved)
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer| BAC
BAS
SSA[1]
Launch mass| 1,500 kilograms (3,300 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date| 7 August 1981, 13:35 (1981-08-07UTC13:35Z) UTC
Rocket| Vostok-2M
Launch site| Plesetsk 43/3
End of mission
Last contact| March 20, 2016 (2016-03-21)
Decay date| 2550 (planned)
Orbital parameters
Reference system| Geocentric
Regime| Low Earth
Perigee altitude| 792 kilometres (492 mi)
Apogee altitude| 883 kilometres (549 mi)
Inclination| 81.2 degrees
Period| 101.6
Epoch| Epoch start: 1981-08-06 20:00:00 UTC

Interkosmos 22, more commonly known as Bulgaria 1300 (Bulgarian: Интеркосмос 22-България 1300), was Bulgaria's first artificial satellite.

It was named after the 1300th anniversary of the foundation of the Bulgarian state. It was designed to study the ionosphere and magnetosphere of the Earth.[2]

## Description

[edit]

The satellite was developed by the Bulgarian Space Agency around the "Meteor" bus, provided by the Soviet Union as part of the Interkosmos program.[3] Assembly took place in Bulgaria, and the spacecraft was launched from Plesetsk in 13:35 local time on 7 August 1981.[4] During that same year the Bulgarian government organized a massive celebration to commemorate the 1300th anniversary of the country's founding.

Bulgaria 1300 was successfully inserted in a near-polar orbit. The outer skin of the spacecraft, including the solar panels, is coated with a conducting material in order to allow the proper measurement of electric fields and low energy plasma. Power is provided by the two solar panels, which generate 2 kW of electricity. A rechargeable battery pack is used as an energy supply when the spacecraft is in an eclipse period. Gathered data is stored on two tape recorders, each with a capacity of 60 megabits. The main transmitter radiates 10 W in the 130-MHz band. No operational limit was planned.[5]

The spacecraft operated for two years and then data transmission stopped. In the spring of 2016, however, it became clear that the satellite was active. It is not expected to reenter until approximately the year 2550.[6]

## Equipment

[edit]

The satellite contains a large set of scientific devices, designed and built in Bulgaria:

A copy of the SEIT unit from the satellite, National Polytechnical Museum in Sofia

* Ion Drift Meter combined with a Retarding Potential Analyzer;
* Spherical Electrostatic Ion Trap (SEIT);
* Cylindrical Langmuir probe;
* Double spherical electron temperature probes;
* Low-Energy Electron-Proton Electrostatic Analyzer Array in 3 orthogonal directions
* Ion Energy-Mass Composition Analyzers
* Wavelength Scanning UV Photometer
* Proton Solid-State Telescope
* Visible Airglow Photometers
* Triaxial Spherical Vector Electric Field Probes
* Triaxial Fluxgate Magnetometer

## See also

[edit]

* Spaceflight portal

* Artificial satellite
* Timeline of artificial satellites and space probes

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Intercosmos 22 (Bulgaria 1300)". n2yo.com. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
2. ^ Serafimov, K.; Chapkanov, S.; Gogoshev, M.; Kutiev, I.; Gousheva, M.; Ivanova, T.; Petkov, N.; Samardjiev, T.; Sargoichev, S.; Balebanov, V.; Podgorni, I. (1983). "First results of the Bulgaria-1300". Acta Astronautica. 10 (5–6). Elsevier: 263–268\. doi:10.1016/0094-5765(83)90075-9.5–6&rft.pages=263-268&rft.date=1983&rft_id=info:doi/10.1016/0094-5765(83)90075-9&rft.aulast=Serafimov&rft.aufirst=K.&rft.au=Chapkanov,+S.&rft.au=Gogoshev,+M.&rft.au=Kutiev,+I.&rft.au=Gousheva,+M.&rft.au=Ivanova,+T.&rft.au=Petkov,+N.&rft.au=Samardjiev,+T.&rft.au=Sargoichev,+S.&rft.au=Balebanov,+V.&rft.au=Podgorni,+I.&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Bulgaria+1300" class="Z3988">
3. ^ "Interkosmos 22". Retrieved 12 December 2017.
4. ^ "NSSDCA Spacecraft Details". NASA. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
5. ^ "Intercosmos 22 Satellite details". n2yo.com. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
6. ^ "The prototype of the first Bulgarian satellite in orbit around the Earth will soon be exhibited in Stara Zagora". Retrieved 19 January 2023.

* v
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Interkosmos programme

Satellites|

* Interkosmos 1
* Interkosmos 2
* Interkosmos 3
* Interkosmos 4
* Interkosmos 5
* Interkosmos 6
* Interkosmos 7
* Interkosmos 8
* Interkosmos 9
* Interkosmos 10
* Interkosmos 11
* Interkosmos 12
* Interkosmos 13
* Interkosmos 14
* Interkosmos 15
* Interkosmos 16
* Interkosmos 17
* Interkosmos 18
* Interkosmos 19
* Interkosmos 20
* Interkosmos 21
* Interkosmos 22
* Interkosmos 23
* Interkosmos 24
* Interkosmos 25
* Interkosmos 26

Manned flights|

* Soyuz 28
* Soyuz 30
* Soyuz 31
* Soyuz 33
* Soyuz 36
* Soyuz 37
* Soyuz 38
* Soyuz 39
* Soyuz 40
* Soyuz T-6
* Soyuz T-11
* Soyuz TM-3
* Soyuz TM-5
* Soyuz TM-6
* Soyuz TM-7

* v
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← 1980

Orbital launches in 1981

1982 →

* Kosmos 1237
* Molniya-3 No.25
* Kosmos 1238
* Kosmos 1239
* Kosmos 1240
* Kosmos 1241
* Musson No.11
* Progress 12
* Kosmos 1242
* Molniya 1-49
* Kosmos 1243
* Interkosmos 21
* Kiku 3
* Kosmos 1244
* Kosmos 1245
* Kosmos 1246
* Kosmos 1247
* Hinotori
* Comstar D4
* OPS 1166
* Kosmos 1248
* Kosmos 1249
* Kosmos 1250
* Kosmos 1251
* Kosmos 1252
* Kosmos 1253
* Kosmos 1254
* Kosmos 1255
* Kosmos 1256
* Kosmos 1257
* Soyuz T-4
* Kosmos 1258
* OPS 7350
* Kosmos 1259
* Gran' No.18L
* Kosmos 1260
* Soyuz 39
* Molniya-3 No.24
* Yantar-2K No.979
* Kosmos 1261
* Kosmos 1262
* Kosmos 1263
* STS-1
* Kosmos 1264
* Kosmos 1265
* Kosmos 1266
* OPS 7225
* Kosmos 1267
* Kosmos 1268
* Kosmos 1269
* Soyuz 40
* Meteor-2 No.8
* Nova-1
* Kosmos 1270
* Kosmos 1271
* Kosmos 1272
* Kosmos 1273
* GOES 5
* Intelsat V F-1
* Rohini RS-D1
* Kosmos 1274
* Kosmos 1275
* Molniya-3 No.30
* Kosmos 1276
* Kosmos 1277
* Meteosat 2
* APPLE
* CAT-3
* Kosmos 1278
* NOAA-7
* Molniya 1-50
* Ekran No.21L
* Kosmos 1279
* Kosmos 1280
* Kosmos 1281
* Meteor-Priroda 2-4
* Iskra 1
* Kosmos 1282
* Kosmos 1283
* Kosmos 1284
* Gran' No.19L
* DE-1
* DE-2
* Kosmos 1285
* Kosmos 1286
* FLTSATCOM 5
* Kosmos 1287
* Kosmos 1288
* Kosmos 1289
* Kosmos 1290
* Kosmos 1291
* Kosmos 1292
* Kosmos 1293
* Kosmos 1294
* Bulgaria 1300
* Himawari 2
* Kosmos 1295
* Kosmos 1296
* Kosmos 1297
* Kosmos 1298
* Kosmos 1299
* Kosmos 1300
* Kosmos 1301
* Kosmos 1302
* OPS 3984
* Kosmos 1303
* Kosmos 1304
* Kosmos 1305
* Kosmos 1306
* Kosmos 1307
* Kosmos 1308
* Kosmos 1309
* Shijian 2
* Shijian 2-01
* Shijian 2-02
* Oreol 3
* Kosmos 1310
* SBS 2
* Kosmos 1311
* Kosmos 1312
* Kosmos 1313
* SME
* UoSAT-1
* Kosmos 1314
* Gran' No.20L
* Kosmos 1315
* Kosmos 1316
* Molniya-3 No.31
* Venera 13
* OPS 4029
* Kosmos 1317
* Kosmos 1318
* Venera 14
* STS-2
* Kosmos 1319
* Molniya 1-51
* Satcom 3R
* Bhaskara 2
* Kosmos 1320
* Kosmos 1321
* Kosmos 1322
* Kosmos 1323
* Kosmos 1324
* Kosmos 1325
* Kosmos 1326
* Kosmos 1327
* Kosmos 1328
* Kosmos 1329
* Intelsat V F-3
* RS-3
* RS-4
* RS-5
* RS-6
* RS-7
* RS-8
* Navstar 7
* Kosmos 1330
* MARECS-1
* CAT-4
* Molniya-1 No.55

Payloads are separated by bullets ( · ), launches by pipes ( | ). Crewed flights are indicated in underline. Uncatalogued launch failures are listed in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are denoted in (brackets).
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