Kosmos 426 (Russian: Космос 426 meaning Cosmos 426), also known as DS-U2-K No.1, was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1971 as part of the Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik programme.

It was a 680-kilogram (1,500 lb) spacecraft,[1] which was built by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and was used to study charged particles and radiation in the Earth's magnetosphere.

[1] A Kosmos-3M carrier rocket, with serial number 65014-101, was used to launch Kosmos 426 into low Earth orbit.

[2] The launch occurred at 18:10:00 UTC on 4 June 1971, and resulted in the successful insertion of the satellite into orbit.

[4] The North American Aerospace Defense Command assigned it the catalogue number 05281.