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Kosmos 111

Failed Soviet lunar orbiter

Field	Value
name	Kosmos 111
image	Luna 10 Musee du Bourget P1010504.JPG
image_caption	Kosmos 111 is identical in design with Luna 10
mission_type	Lunar orbiter
operator	Soviet space program
COSPAR_ID	1966-017A
SATCAT	2093
mission_duration
spacecraft_type	E-6S
manufacturer	GSMZ Lavochkin
dry_mass	1580 kg
launch_mass	6540 kg
launch_date	1 March 1966, 11:03:49 GMT
launch_rocket	Molniya-M
launch_site	Baikonur 31/6
disposal_type	Launch failure
decay_date	3 March 1966
orbit_epoch	1 March 1966
orbit_reference	Geocentric
orbit_regime	Low Earth
orbit_periapsis	182 km
orbit_apoapsis	194 km
orbit_inclination	51.9°
orbit_period	88.6 minutes
apsis	gee
programme	Luna programme
previous_mission	Luna 9
next_mission	Luna 10
programme2	Kosmos (satellites)
previous_mission2	Kosmos 110
next_mission2	Kosmos 112

Kosmos 111 ( meaning Cosmos 111), E-6S No.204, was the first Soviet attempt to orbit a spacecraft around the Moon. The design was similar to the future successful Luna 10 spacecraft. Kosmos 111 was produced in less than a month, one of two spacecraft developed from the E-6 lander bus in a crash program to upstage America's Lunar Orbiter series and to commemorate the 23rd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), held in March 1966.

Spacecraft

Kosmos 111 was designated an E-6S spacecraft, consisting of an E-6 bus attached to a cylindrical pressurized 245 kg lunar orbiter module. It was 1.5 m tall and 75 cm in diameter at the base. The main propulsion systems for lunar orbit insertion were on the bus, and the science payload was carried on the orbiter module. The payload comprised seven instruments: a gamma-ray spectrometer for energies between 0.3–3 MeV, a triaxial magnetometer (on the end of a 1.5-meter boom), a piezoelectric micrometeoroid detector, instruments for solar-plasma studies, devices for measuring infrared emissions from the Moon, low energy X-ray detectors, and a bank of charged particle detectors. Additionally, the radio system could be used for gravitational and radio occultation studies. The lunar orbiting module was battery-powered and communications were via 183 MHz and 922 MHz aerials.

Scientific instruments

Seven scientific instruments:

Magnetometer
Gamma-ray spectrometer
Five gas-discharge counters
Two ion traps and a charged particle trap
Piezoelectric micrometer detector
Infrared detector
Low-energy X-ray photon counters

Mission

This mission was intended to orbit the Moon and was configured identically to the future Luna 10 mission (1966-027A). It was launched on 1 March 1966 at 11:03:49 GMT via Molniya 8K78M s/n U15000-50 rocket from Site 31/6 into Earth parking orbit, but the Blok-L upper stage lost roll control and failed to fire the spacecraft into a lunar trajectory. It had a perigee of 182 km, an apogee of 194 km, an inclination of 51.9°, and an orbital period of 88.6 minutes. It was designated Kosmos 111 and reentered two days after launch, on 3 March 1966.

The craft weighed 6540 kg and was not immediately acknowledged to be a Luna vehicle after its destruction.

References

McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Report.
Baker, David. (1996). "Spaceflight and Rocketry". Facts on File, Inc..
"Kosmos 111 (Luna)". NASA.
(27 February 2020). "Cosmos 111: Display 1966-017A". NASA.
(27 February 2020). "Cosmos 111: Trajectory 1966-017A". NASA.
(2018). "Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958–2016". NASA.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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