Kosmos 60

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Kosmos 60
Mission typeLunar soft-landing lander
OperatorOKB-1
COSPAR ID1965-018A
SATCAT no.01246
Mission duration5 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type
ManufacturerOKB-1
Launch mass6530 kg[1]
Dry mass1470 kg[2]
Start of mission
Launch date12 March 1965
09:25:31 GMT
RocketMolniya 8K78
s/n G15000-24
Launch siteBaikonur, Site 1/5
ContractorOKB-1
End of mission
Decay date17 March 1965
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric[3]
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude195 km
Apogee altitude248 km
Inclination64.7°
Period89.1 minutes
Epoch12 March 1965
 

Kosmos 60 (Russian: Космос 60 meaning Cosmos 60) was an E-6 No.9 probe (Ye-6 series), launched by the Soviet Union. It was the sixth attempt at a lunar soft-landing mission, with a design similar to that of Luna 4.

Kosmos 60 was launched by a Molniya 8K78 rocket, serial number G15000-24, flying from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The launch took place at 09:25:31 GMT. The spacecraft achieved an low Earth orbit, with a perigee of 195 kilometres (121 mi), an apogee of 248 kilometres (154 mi), an inclination of 64.7°, and an orbital period of 89.1 minutes, but failed to leave orbit for its journey to the Moon due to a failure when the Blok L upper stage failed to fire for the trans-lunar injection burn. Instead, the spacecraft remained stranded in Earth orbit. A later investigation indicated that there might have been a short circuit in the electric converter within the control system of the spacecraft (which also controlled the Blok L stage) preventing engine ignition. It had an on-orbit mass of 1,470 kilograms (3,240 lb). The satellite reentered the Earth's atmosphere on 17 March 1965.

Kosmos 60 carried two instruments: an imaging system and the SBM-10 radiation detector.[4]

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