Kosmos 154


Kosmos 154, also known as L-1 No.3P, was a Soviet test spacecraft launched from the Baikonur aboard a Proton-K rocket. It was a prototype Soyuz 7K-L1 launched by Proton. It was a crewed precursor to the Zond series.

History

The spacecraft was designed to launch a crew from the Earth to conduct a flyby of the Moon and return to Earth. The primary focus was a Soviet circumlunar flight, which help document the Moon, and also show Soviet power. The test ran from the Zond program from 1967-1970, which produced multiple failures in the 7K-L1's re-entry systems. The remaining 7K-L1s were scrapped, ultimately replaced by the Soyuz 7K-L3.

Objectives

Two test flights of the UR-500K/L1 system were performed in March and April 1967 under the designations Kosmos 146 and Kosmos 154. In April 1967, under the cover name Kosmos-154, the third model of the L-1 was placed into near-Earth orbit. Because of a control system failure that resulted in the premature jettisoning of the ullage motors, the main propulsion system of the Block-D did not ignite. Kosmos 154 was one of the first Zond attempts. It was supposed to flyby the Moon but achieved Earth orbit only.

Mission

Kosmos 154 was launched using a Proton-K carrier rocket, which flew from Site 81/23 at Baikonur. The launch occurred at 09:07 GMT on 8 April 1967. Kosmos 154 was operated in an Earth orbit, it had a perigee of, an apogee of, an inclination of 51.6° and an orbital period of 88.5 minutes. Kosmos 154 had a mass of.
Kosmos 154 reached Earth orbit but the Blok D translunar injection stage failed to fire. Kosmos 154 burned up two days later when orbit decayed, on 10 April 1967.

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