Kosmos 21

Kosmos 21
Mission typeDeep space and return to Earth
(test for Venus impact)[1]
OperatorOKB-1
COSPAR ID1963-044A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.00687
Mission duration3 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type3MV-1A
ManufacturerOKB-1
Launch mass890 kg[2]
Start of mission
Launch date11 November 1963
06:23:34 GMT
RocketMolniya 8K78M s/n G103-18[1]
Launch siteBaikonur, Site 1/5
ContractorOKB-1
End of mission
DisposalUpper stage failure
Decay date14 November 1963
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric[3]
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude182 km
Apogee altitude216 km
Inclination64.8°
Period88.5 minutes
Epoch11 November 1963

Kosmos 21 (Russian: Космос 21 meaning Cosmos 21) was a Soviet spacecraft. This mission has been tentatively identified by NASA as a technology test of the Venera series space probes. It may have been an attempted Venus impact, presumably similar to the later Kosmos 27 mission, or it may have been intended from the beginning to remain in geocentric orbit. In any case, the spacecraft never left Earth orbit after insertion by the Molniya launcher. The orbit decayed on 14 November 1963, three days after launch.

  1. ^ a b Siddiqi, Asif A. (2018). Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958–2016 (PDF). The NASA history series (second ed.). Washington, D.C.: NASA History Program Office. pp. 54–55. ISBN 9781626830424. LCCN 2017059404. SP2018-4041.
  2. ^ https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1963-044A - 27 February 2020
  3. ^ https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/displayTrajectory.action?id=1963-044A - 27 February 2020