Kosmos 359
| Mission type | Venus lander |
|---|---|
| Operator | Lavochkin |
| COSPAR ID | 1970-065A |
| SATCAT no. | 04501 |
| Mission duration | Launch failure |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | 3MV |
| Manufacturer | Lavochkin |
| Launch mass | 1,180 kilograms (2,600 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 22 August 1970, 05:06:09 UTC |
| Rocket | Molniya-M 8K78M |
| Launch site | Baikonur 31/6 |
| End of mission | |
| Decay date | 6 November 1970 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Eccentricity | 0.05041 |
| Perigee altitude | 210 kilometres (130 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 910 kilometres (570 mi) |
| Inclination | 51.5 degrees |
| Period | 95.70 minutes |
Kosmos 359 was an unmanned Soviet probe launched on 22 August 1970. The probe's intended purpose was to explore Venus, but an error caused the final-stage rocket to malfunction. This left the craft trapped in an elliptical orbit around Earth for 410 days before orbital decay and atmospheric entry. Kosmos 359 was launched five days after Venera 7 and had an identical design; had the craft not suffered a mission-ending failure, it would have landed on Venus shortly after Venera 7. To publicly acknowledge the failure of the attempted Venus lander would be a public relations disaster for the Soviet space program; after the mission failed, the Venera spacecraft was renamed Kosmos 359 in order to conceal the mishap from the public.