INTERCOSMOS 25 (Interkosmos 25)

• published: 12 Aug 2015
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LAST LAUNCH OF A SATELLITE SOVIET MADE IN COLLABORATION INTERNATIONAL (Intercosmos 25) The lone dedicated Soviet science mission of the year lifted off from Plesetsk aboard a Tsyklon (SL-14) booster. Intercosmos 25 was part of the APEX (Active Plasma Experiment) program to investigate the effects of streams of electrons and beams of plasma on the ionosphere and magnetosphere. The spacecraft was cylindrical, measuring 1.8 m long, 1.5 m in diameter. Eight solar panels extended in petal-like fashion from one end. It weighed about one metric ton at launch. A Czechoslovakian subsatellite, Magion 3, was deployed from Intercosmos 25 on December 28. Intercosmos 25 was launched on 1991-12-18. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned as the President of the USSR, declaring the office extinct. He turned the powers that had been vested in the presidency over to Yeltsin. That night, the Soviet flag was lowered for the last time, and the Russian tricolor was raised in its place. The following day, the Supreme Soviet, the highest governmental body of the Soviet Union, voted both itself and the Soviet Union out of existence. This is generally recognized as marking the official, final dissolution of the Soviet Union as a functioning state.