- Kosmos 21
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Kosmos 21 (Russian: Космос 21 meaning Cosmos 21) was a Soviet spacecraft with an unknown mission.[citation needed] This mission has been tentatively identified by NASA as a technology test of the Venera series space probes. It may have been an attempted Venus flyby, presumably similar to the later Kosmos 27 mission, or it may have been intended from the beginning to remain in geocentric orbit. In any case, the spacecraft never left Earth orbit after insertion by the SL-6/A-2-e launcher. The orbit decayed on November 14, three days after launch.
Beginning in 1962, the name Kosmos was given to Soviet spacecraft which remained in Earth orbit, regardless of whether that was their intended final destination. The designation of this mission as an intended planetary probe is based on evidence from Soviet and non-Soviet sources and historical documents. Typically Soviet planetary missions were initially put into an Earth parking orbit as a launch platform with a rocket engine and attached probe. The probes were then launched toward their targets with an engine burn with a duration of roughly 4 minutes. If the engine misfired or the burn was not completed, the probes would be left in Earth orbit and given a Kosmos designation.
Venera programme Tyazhely Sputnik · Venera 1 · Venera 2MV-1 No.1 · Venera 2MV-1 No.2 · Venera 2MV-2 No.1 · Kosmos 21 · Venera 3MV-1 No.2 · Kosmos 27 · Venera 2 · Venera 3 · Kosmos 96 · Venera 4 · Kosmos 167 · Venera 5 · Venera 6 · Venera 7 · Kosmos 359 · Venera 8 · Kosmos 482 · Venera 9 · Venera 10 · Venera 11 · Venera 12 · Venera 13 · Venera 14 · Venera 15 · Venera 16 · Venera-D← 1962 · Orbital launches in 1963 · 1964 → Luna E-6 No.2 | OPS 0048 | OPS 0180 | Luna E-6 No.3 | Syncom 1 | OPS 0240 | OPS 0583 | OPS 0627 · P-11 No.1 | Kosmos 13 | OPS 0720 | Luna 4 | Explorer 17 | Transit 5A-2 | DS-P1 No.2 | Kosmos 14 | Kosmos 15 | OPS 1008 | OPS 1298 | Kosmos 16 | Telstar 2 | Midas 7 · Dash 1 · ERS-5 · ERS-6 · Westford 2 | Mercury-Atlas 9 (Balloon Subsatellite 2 · Flashing Light Unit) | OPS 0924 | Kosmos 17 | Kosmos 18 | DS-MT No.1 | OPS 0954 | Midas 8 · ERS-7 · ERS-8 | Vostok 5 | FTV-1292 · Solrad 6A · LOFTI 2B · Surcal 3 · Radose 112 | Transit 5A-3 | Vostok 6 | TIROS-7 | OPS 0999 · Hitchhiker 1 | GRS | OPS 1440 | Zenit-2 No.12 | OPS 1467 | OPS 1266 | Midas 9 · Dash 2 · ERS-9 · ERS-10 | Syncom 2 | OPS 1370 | Kosmos 19 | DS-A1 No.3 | OPS 1419 | OPS 1561 · LAMPO | OPS 1947 | OPS 1353 | OPS 1610 | Transit 5BN-1 · Transit 5E-1 | Vela 1A · Vela 1B · ERS-12 | Kosmos 20 | DS-A1 No.4 | OPS 2196 | OPS 2437 · Hitchhiker 2 | Polyot 1 | OPS 2268 | Kosmos 21 | Kosmos 22 | Explorer 18 | Atlas-Centaur 2 | OPS 2260 | Zenit-2 No.14 | Transit 5BN-2 · Transit 5E-2 | Kosmos 23 | OPS 2372 | Kosmos 24 | Explorer 19 | TIROS-8 | OPS 1388 · Hitchhiker 3Payloads are separated by bullets ( · ), launches by pipes ( | ). Manned flights are indicated in bold text. Uncatalogued launch failures are listed in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are denoted in brackets. Categories:- 1963 in spaceflight
- 1963 in the Soviet Union
- Kosmos satellites
- Venera programme
- Soviet Union spacecraft stubs
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