Kosmos 146
| Mission type | Test flight |
|---|---|
| Operator | Soviet space program |
| COSPAR ID | 1967-021A |
| SATCAT no. | 02705 |
| Mission duration | 8 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Soyuz 7K-L1 No. 2P |
| Spacecraft type | Soyuz 7K-L1 |
| Manufacturer | OKB-1 |
| Launch mass | 5375 kg |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 10 March 1967, 11:30:33 GMT |
| Rocket | Proton-K / Blok D |
| Launch site | Baikonur, Site 81/23 |
| Contractor | OKB-1 |
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | Deorbited |
| Decay date | March 18, 1967 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric[a] |
| Regime | Highly elliptical Earth[a] |
| Periapsis altitude | 177 km[a] |
| Apoapsis altitude | 296 km[a] |
| Inclination | 51.5°[a] |
| Period | 89.2 minutes[a] |
| Epoch | 10 March 1967 |
| a Presumably, this is initial orbit information. | |
Kosmos 146 (Russian: Космос 146, lit. 'Cosmos 146'), also known as Soyuz 7K-L1 No. 2P, was a Soviet test spacecraft precursor to the Zond series, launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard the inaugural flight of the Proton-K rocket, an improved version of the Proton, which had been launched four times before.
The spacecraft was designed to launch a crew from the Earth to conduct a flyby of the Moon and return to Earth. The primary focus was a Soviet circumlunar flight, which help document the Moon, and also show Soviet power. The test ran from the Zond program from 1967 to 1970, which produced multiple failures in the 7K-L1's re-entry systems. The remaining 7K-L1s were scrapped, ultimately replaced by the Soyuz 7K-L3.