Kosmos 140

Kosmos 140 Космос-140
Mission statistics[1]
Mission name	Kosmos 140 Космос-140
Spacecraft type	Soyuz 7K-OK
Spacecraft mass	6,450 kg (14,200 lb)
Crew size	unmanned
Launch vehicle	Soyuz
Launch pad	Gagarin's Start, Baikonur Cosmodrome[2]
Launch date	7 February 1967 03:21 (1967-02-07T03:21) UTC
Landing site	Aral Sea
Landing	9 February 1967 (1967-02-10)
Mission duration	approximately 48hr
Apogee	218 km (135 mi)
Perigee	165 km (103 mi)
Orbital period	88.5 minutes
Orbital inclination	51.7°

Kosmos 140 (Russian: Космос 140 meaning Cosmos 140) was an unmanned flight of the Soyuz spacecraft.^[3] It was the third attempted test flight of the Soyuz 7K-OK model, after orbital (Kosmos 133) and launch (Soyuz 11A511) failures of the first two Soyuz spacecraft.^[4] The spacecraft suffered attitude control problems and excessive fuel consumption in orbit, but remained controllable. An attempted maneuver on the 22nd orbit still showed problems with the control system. It malfunctioned yet again during retrofire, leading to a steeper than planned ballistic reentry and a 300 mm (12 in) hole being burned in the heat shield.^[5]

Although the event would have been lethal to any human occupants, the capsule's recovery systems operated and the capsule crashed through the ice of the frozen Aral Sea, hundreds of kilometers short of its landing zone. The spacecraft finally sank in 10 meters of water and had to be retrieved by divers. The test performance was nonetheless deemed "good enough"; the manned docking missions of Soyuz 1 and Soyuz 2 were approved for the next flight.^[5]

Mission parameters

• Mass: 6,450 kg (14,200 lb)
• Perigee: 165 km (103 mi)
• Apogee: 218 km (135 mi)
• Inclination: 51.7°
• Period: 88.5 minutes

References

1. ^ "Cosmos 140 Trajectory Details". National Space Science Data Center Master Catalog. NASA. http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftOrbit.do?id=1967-009A. Retrieved 2009-04-16. 
2. ^ "Baikonur LC1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/sites/baiurlc1.htm. Retrieved 2009-04-16. 
3. ^ "Soyuz spacecraft flights". S.P.Korolev RSC Energia. http://www.energia.ru/english/energia/history/flights_soyuz.html. Retrieved 2009-04-16. 
4. ^ Part 1 - Soyuz in Mir Hardware Heritage by David S. F. Portree.
5. ^ ^{a b} "Cosmos 140 Spacecraft Details". National Space Science Data Center Master Catalog. NASA. http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/masterCatalog.do?sc=1967-009A. Retrieved 2009-04-16.