Tuesday, October 27, 2026

1969-09-23 · 57 years ago

Kosmos-300 — launch

Date in UTC

Kosmos 300 (Ye-8-5 series) was the fourth Soviet attempt at an uncrewed lunar sample return. It was probably similar in design to the later Luna 16 spacecraft. It was launched, on a Proton rocket, on September 23, 1969. The mission was a failure. The engines on the Block D upper stage failed due to an oxidizer leak, leaving the spacecraft to burn up in Earth's atmosphere.

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosmos_300. Original timeline Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmos_program. Related NASA reference: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/chronology.html#1969. Description adapted from Wikipedia contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).

Category
Launches and Flight Tests
Type
Orbital launch
Subjects
Space transportation
Mission
Kosmos-300
Organization
Strategic Rocket Forces
Vehicle
Proton-K/D
Location
NIIP-5, Baykonur, Kazakstan
Country
SU
Outcome
Partially successful

Context and qualifications

Launch code: OF40. Source references: NK9810-25; NK9810-25. Details uncertain

Sources and attribution

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