Cosmos 154

An Image of a Zond/Cosmos Spacecraft being assembled, which was the same type of spacecraft Cosmos 154 was.

NAME	LAUNCH DATE	WEIGHT lb (kg)
Cosmos 154 (USSR)	8-Apr-67	12,300 (5,600)

Cosmos 154 (or Космос 154 in Russian) was a Soviet test spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard a Proton-K rocket. It was a Prototype Soyuz 7K-L1P launched by Proton and failed to go into planned translunar trajectory. It was also a probable manned precursor to the Zond series. It reached earth orbit but the Block D translunar injection stage failed to fire (ullage rockets, which had to fire to settle propellants in tanks before main engine fired, were jettisoned prematurely). The spacecraft burned up two days later when orbit decayed.^[1][2]

History

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.^[3]

Cosmos 154 was one of the first Zond attempts. It was supposed to flyby the Moon but Achieved Earth orbit only. After spending 2 days in Earth Orbit, it reentered Earth's Atmosphere and burned up during Reentry.^[4]

Launch Information

Launch Date: 1967-04-08 at 09:07:00 UTC

Launch Vehicle: Proton-K

Launch Site: Tyuratam (Baikonur Cosmodrome), U.S.S.R

Decay Date: 1967-04-10

Trajectory Details

Gallery

• 
  Illustration of Zond Spacecraft During Trans-Lunar Coast.
• 
  A color drawing of a Zond L1 Spacecraft, which is what the Cosmos 154 Spacecraft was.
• 
  A close up image of the Moon taken by Zond 8 in 1970.
• 
  A stamp from the Soviet Union in 1969 Illustrating the Zond 5 Spacecraft Lunar Flyby, which happened in December 1968.

References