7K-L1/7L
Launch Date | Apr. 22, 1968 |
Launch Site | Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Russia | Launch Site 81P |
Destination | Earth’s Moon |
Type | Flyby (Circumlunar) |
Status | Unsuccessful |
Nation | Soviet Union |
Alternate Names | N/A |
Goals
This uncrewed mission was the third in a series intended to lay the groundwork for sending Soviet cosmonauts to orbit and eventually land on the moon.
Accomplishments
None. A malfunction shut the engine down only minutes after launch. The spacecraft's emergency rescue system did work. The payload capsule was ejected and recovered about 520 kilometers away
In Depth
During this third attempt at a circumlunar mission, the Proton rocket's second stage engine spuriously shut down at T+194.64 seconds due to an erroneous signal from the payload.
The emergency rescue system was activated, and the 7K-L1 capsule was later recovered about 520 kilometers from the launch pad.
Spacecraft
Launch Vehicle: 8K82K + Blok D (Proton K no. 232-01 / Blok D no. 15L)
Spacecraft Mass: 5,375 kilograms
Spacecraft Instruments:
Unknown
Selected References
Siddiqi, Asif A. Deep Space Chronicle: A Chronology of Deep Space and Planetary Probes 1958-2000, NASA, 2002.