Cosmos 118 was the ninth Russian experimental meteorlogical satellite and the seventh launched from the Tyuratam site. It was the fourth in a series of prototype satellites that led eventually to the orbiting of Russia's first announced experimental weather satellite, Cosmos 122. No offical description of the Cosmos 118 flight has ever been released. However, the orbital parameters and configuration of the satellite were so similar to those of Cosmos 122 that it is generally assumed that Cosmos 118 was a precursor to the satellites of the experimental Cosmos 'Meteor' system. The satellite was in the form of a cylinder 5 m long and 1.5 m in diameter with two solar panels attached to the sides. A steerable antenna, also mounted on the side, transmitted at 90 MHz. The primary objective of the flight probably was to test the basic spacecraft hardware. Tests were probably also made on improved TV and IR cloud cameras and actimometric instruments, which may have failed to operate properly. As of June 1972, the satellite remained in orbit in a deactivated mode. Similar flights were made by Cosmos 44, 58, and 100.