Cosmos 434

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Cosmos 434
LK Lander
Organization Soviet Union
Launch 1971-08-12 at 09:50:00 UTC
Launch vehicle Soyuz 11A511L.
Mission duration August 22, 1981
Mass 7000 kg
NSSDC ID 1971-069A
Webpage NASA NSSDC Master Catalog
Orbital elements
Satellite of Earth
Eccentricity .006643
Inclination 51.6°
Orbital period 89 m
Apoastron 285 km
Periastron 197 km

Cosmos 434 was the final test of the LK Lander unmanned. It performed the longest burn of the three unmanned LK Lander tests. It finished in a 186 km by 11,804 km orbit. This test qualified the lander as flightworthy. The LK was the only hardware system of the Soviet lunar landing project reaching this status. In 1980-81 there were fears that it might carry nuclear fuel. When in reentered over Australia on August 22, 1981 the Soviet Foreign Ministry in Australia admitted that Cosmos 434 was an “experiment unit of a lunar cabin,” or lunar lander.

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