Kosmos 434

Kosmos 434

LK Lander
Mission type Spacecraft test
Operator Soviet Union
COSPAR ID 1971-069A
SATCAT № 5407
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft T2K No.3
Launch mass 7,000 kilograms (15,000 lb)[1]
Start of mission
Launch date 12 August 1971, 09:30 (1971-08-12UTC09:30Z) UTC[2]
Rocket Soyuz-L
Launch site Baikonur 31/6
End of mission
Decay date 23 August 1981
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Medium Earth
Semi-major axis 12,353.00 kilometres (7,675.80 mi)
Eccentricity 0.46911647
Perigee 187 kilometres (116 mi)
Apogee 11,777 kilometres (7,318 mi)
Inclination 51.5 degrees
Period 227.94 minutes
Epoch 11 September 1971[3]

Kosmos 434 (Russian: Космос 434; meaning Cosmos 434) was the final unmanned test flight of the Soviet LK Lander. It performed the longest burn of the four unmanned LK Lander tests. It finished in a 186 km by 11,804 km orbit. This test qualified the lander as flightworthy.

The LK was the only element of the Soviet manned lunar programs that reached this status. In 1980-81 there were fears that it might carry nuclear fuel. When in reentered over Australia on August 22, 1981 the Soviet Foreign Ministry in Australia admitted that Kosmos 434 was an “experiment unit of a lunar cabin,” or lunar lander.

See also

References

  1. "Cosmos 434". National Space Science Data Center. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  2. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  3. McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 15 December 2013.

External links

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