A Kosmos-3Mcarrier rocket, serial number 47119-109, was used to launch Kosmos 461 into low Earth orbit. The launch took place from Site 132/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.[3] The launch occurred at 17:30:00 UTC on 2 December 1971, and resulted in the successful insertion of the satellite into orbit.[4]
Kosmos 461 was the only DS-U2-MT satellite to be launched.[2][6] It was operated in an orbit with a perigee of 486 kilometres (302 mi), an apogee of 508 kilometres (316 mi), 69.2 degrees of inclination, and an orbital period of 94.55 minutes.[7] It completed operations on 14 December 1972,[1] before decaying from orbit and reentering the atmosphere on 21 February 1979.[7]
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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