The satellite was designed to identify missile launches using optical telescopes and infrared sensors.

[2] Kosmos 917 was launched from Site 43/4 at Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Russian SSR.

[3] A Molniya-M carrier rocket with a 2BL upper stage was used to perform the launch, which took place at 04:44 UTC on 16 June 1977.

[5] The United States Space Command assigned it the Satellite Catalog Number 10059.

[6] The primary portion of it re-entered on 4 January 2023, but several pieces of its debris still remain in orbit.