| Kosmos 378 | |
| Mission Type: | Ionospheric |
| Cospar Id: | 1970-097A |
| Spacecraft Type: | DS-U2-IP |
| Manufacturer: | Yuzhnoye |
| Launch Date: | UTC |
| Launch Rocket: | Kosmos-3M |
| Launch Site: | Plesetsk 132/2 |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric |
| Orbit Regime: | Low Earth |
| Orbit Inclination: | 74 degrees |
| Orbit Period: | 104.4 minutes |
| Apsis: | gee |
Kosmos 378 (ru|Космос 378 meaning Cosmos 378), also known as DS-U2-IP No.1, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1970 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme. It was a 710kg (1,570lb) spacecraft, which was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and was used to study the ionosphere.[1]
A Kosmos-3M 11K65M carrier rocket, serial number 47117-107, was used to launch Kosmos 378 into low Earth orbit.[2] It was launched at 18:20:01 UTC on 17 November 1970, from Site 132/2 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.[2] The launch resulted in the successful insertion of the satellite into orbit.[3] Upon reaching orbit, the satellite was assigned its Kosmos designation, and received the International Designator 1970-097A.[4] The North American Aerospace Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 04713.
Kosmos 378 was the only DS-U2-IP satellite to be launched.[1] [5] It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of, an apogee of, 74 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 104.4 minutes. It completed operations on 13 September 1971,[6] before decaying from orbit and reentering the atmosphere on 17 August 1972.[7]