Zond 8

Zond 8

Zond 8
Names Soyuz 7K-L1 s/n 14
Mission type Spacecraft test
Operator Soviet Union
COSPAR ID 1970-088A
SATCAT № 4591
Spacecraft properties
Bus Soyuz 7K-L1
Manufacturer OKB-1
Launch mass 5,375 kilograms (11,850 lb)
End of mission
Recovered by Soviet recovery vessel Taman
Landing date October 27, 1970 (1970-10-27)
Landing site 730 kilometres (450 mi) SE of the Chagos Archipelago
Flyby of Moon
Closest approach October 24, 1970
Distance 1,110.4 km (690.0 mi)

Zond 8, a formal member of the Soviet Zond program and unmanned version of Soyuz 7K-L1 manned Moon-flyby spacecraft, was launched from an Earth orbiting platform, Tyazheliy Sputnik (1970-088B), towards the Moon.

The announced objectives of Zond 8 were investigations of the Moon and circumlunar space and testing of onboard systems and units. The spacecraft obtained photographs of Earth on 21 October from a distance of 64,480 km. The spacecraft transmitted flight images of Earth for three days. Zond 8 flew past the Moon on October 24, 1970, at a distance of 1110.4 km and obtained both black-and-white and color photographs of the lunar surface. Scientific measurements were also obtained during the flight.

Zond 8 reentered the Earth's atmosphere and splashed down 730 km SE of the Chagos Archipelago, in the Indian Ocean on 27 October 1970, 24 km from the USSR recovery ship Taman.[1][2]

See also

References

  1. "Zond 8, Recovery Ship, Miss Distance", Soviet and Russian lunar exploration By Brian Harvey - page 218, Recovery Ship and Miss Distance.
  2. "Zond 8, Landing Point" Archived September 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine., NASA Solar System Exploration - Zond 8, Splashdown area.

This article was originally based on material from NASA (NSSDC) information on Zond 8


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