Kosmos 359
| Launch Date | Aug. 22, 1970 |
| Launch Site | Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Russia |
| Destination | Venus |
| Type | Lander |
| Status | Unsuccessful |
| Nation | Soviet Union |
| Alternate Names | 1970-065A, 04501, Unnamed Venera |
Goals
This twin of Venera 7 was supposed to achieve the same goal: operate and transmit data after landing on Venus.
Accomplishments
None. The spacecraft entered Earth orbit, but the rocket engine that was supposed to launch it from there to Venus malfunctioned, leaving it stranded in Earth orbit.
Key Dates
Aug. 22, 1970: Launch
In Depth
This was the second of a pair of probes designed to land on Venus and transmit information back to Earth. In this case, after the spacecraft reached Earth orbit, the main engine of the Blok L upper stage was late in igniting and cut off early (after only 25 seconds) due to incorrect operation of a sequencer and a failure in the power-supply system's DC transformer.
The payload remained stranded in orbit, eventually reentering Earth's atmosphere on 6 November 1970. The spacecraft was named Kosmos 359 by the Soviet press to disguise the failure.
Spacecraft
Launch Vehicle: Modified SS-6 (Sapwood) with second-generation upper stage + escape stage; 8K78M
Spacecraft Mass: c. 1,200 kg
Spacecraft Instruments:
Bus:
- solar wind detector
- cosmic-ray detector
Lander:
- resistance thermometer
- aneroid barometer
Additional Resources
National Space Science Data Center Master Catalog: Kosmos 359
Selected References
Siddiqi, Asif A. Deep Space Chronicle: A Chronology of Deep Space and Planetary Probes 1958-2000, NASA, 2002.
