Kosmos 27 (Russian: Космос 27 meaning Cosmos 27), also known as Zond 3MV-1 No.3 was a space mission intended as a Venus impact probe. The spacecraft was launched by a Molniya 8K78 carrier rocket from Baikonur. The Blok L stage and probe reached Earth orbit successfully, but the attitude control system failed to operate.[4]
Mission type | Venus impact probe |
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Operator | OKB-1 |
COSPAR ID | 1964-014A ![]() |
SATCAT no. | 00770 |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft type | 3MV-1 |
Manufacturer | OKB-1 |
Launch mass | 6520 kg[1] |
Dry mass | 948 kg (including an impact probe of 285 kg)[2] |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 27 March 1964, 03:24:43 GMT |
Rocket | Molniya 8K78 s/n T15000-27 |
Launch site | Baikonur, Site 1/5 |
Contractor | OKB-1 |
End of mission | |
Decay date | 28 March 1964 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric[3] |
Regime | Low Earth |
Perigee altitude | 167 km |
Apogee altitude | 198 km |
Inclination | 64.8° |
Period | 88.7 minutes |
Epoch | 27 March 1964 |
Venera ← Venera 3MV-1 No.2 |
Kosmos 27 was launched at 03:24:43 GMT on 27 March 1964, atop a Molniya 8K78 s/n T15000-27 carrier rocket flying from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
Kosmos 27 was a "third-generation" deep space planetary probes of the 3MV series of the Soviet Union. The Soviet engineers planned four types of the 3MV, the 3MV-1 (for Venus impact), 3MV-2 (for Venus flyby), 3MV-3 (for Mars impact), and 3MV-4 (for Mars flyby). The primary difference over the second-generation was vastly improved (and in many cases doubled) orientation system elements as well as improved onboard propulsion systems. While these four versions were meant to study Mars and Venus.[2]
The probe was the first dedicated 3MV spacecraft that the Soviets launched (earlier missions had been of the test "Object-Probe" versions as Kosmos 21). It was designed to accomplish atmospheric entry into Venus followed by descent and impact. On 27 March 1964, it had a perigee of 167 kilometres (104 mi) and an apogee of 198 kilometres (123 mi), with an inclination of 64.8° and an orbital period of 88.7 minutes. The spacecraft successfully reached Earth orbit but failed to leave for Venus when the Blok L upper stage malfunctioned. The upper stage lost stable attitude due to a failure in the circuit of the power supply circuit that powered the valves for the attitude control system; hence, the stage remained uncontrollable and not ready to initiate a burn to leave Earth orbit. The problem was traced to a design error, the examination of telemetry data found that the failure was due to a design flaw in the circuitry of the BOZ unit, which resulted in power not being transferred to the attitude control jets on the Blok L stage, rather than one related to quality control. The spacecraft burned up in Earth's atmosphere the following day, on 28 March 1964. If successful, this mission would have been given a "Venera" designation.[2]
Venera program | |
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Flybys | |
Orbiters | |
Descent probes | |
Landers | |
Failed launches |
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Future missions |
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← 1963 · Orbital launches in 1964 · 1965 → | |
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Poppy 3 · GGSE-1 · SOLRAD 7A · SECOR 1 | OPS 3367A · OPS 3367B | Relay 2 | Echo 2 | Jupiter Nosecone | Elektron 1 · Elektron 2 | Ranger 6 | OPS 3444 | Zond 3MV-1 No.2 | Kosmos 25 | OPS 2423 | OPS 3722 | OPS 3435 | Kosmos 26 | BE-A | Luna E-6 No.6 | OPS 3467 | Kosmos 27 | Ariel 2 | Zond 1 | Kosmos 28 | Gemini 1 | Polyot 2 | Luna E-6 No.5 | Transit 5BN-3 · Transit 5E-4 | OPS 3743 | Kosmos 29 | OPS 2921 | Kosmos 30 | OPS 3592 | Apollo AS-101 | OPS 4412 | OPS 3483 | Molniya-1 No.2 | Kosmos 31 | Kosmos 32 | OPS 3236 | OPS 4467A · OPS 4467B | OPS 3754 | Kosmos 33 | ESRS | Atlas-Centaur 3 | Kosmos 34 | OPS 3395 | OPS 3684 · OPS 4923 | Elektron 3 · Elektron 4 | OPS 3491 | Kosmos 35 | Vela 2A · Vela 2B · ERS-13 | Ranger 7 | Kosmos 36 | OPS 3042 | Kosmos 37 | OPS 3802 · OPS 3216 | Kosmos 38 · Kosmos 39 · Kosmos 40 | Syncom 3 | OPS 2739 | Kosmos 41 | Kosmos 42 · Kosmos 43 | Kosmos 44 | Titan 3A-2 | OGO-1 | Kosmos 45 | OPS 3497 | Apollo AS-102 | OPS 4262 | Kosmos 46 | Explorer 21 | OPS 3333 | Kosmos 47 | OPS 5798 · Dragsphere 1 · Dragsphere 2 | OPS 4036 | Explorer 22 | Voskhod 1 | Kosmos 48 | OPS 3559 | Strela-1 No.6 · Strela-1 No.7 · Strela-1 No.8 | OPS 4384 · OPS 5063 | Kosmos 49 | Kosmos 50 | OPS 5434 | OPS 3062 | Mariner 3 | Explorer 23 | OPS 3360 | Explorer 24 · Explorer 25 | Mariner 4 | Zond 2 | DS-2 No.2 | OPS 4439 | Kosmos 51 | Titan 3A-1 | Surveyor Mass Model | OPS 6582 · Transit 5E-5 | San Marco 1 | OPS 3358 | Explorer 26 | OPS 3762 | |
Payloads are separated by bullets ( · ), launches by pipes ( | ). Crewed flights are indicated in underline. Uncatalogued launch failures are listed in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are denoted in brackets. |