Cosmos 140 was a probable Soyuz programme precursor. It was the third attempted flight of the Soyuz 7K-OK model. The spacecraft experienced attitude control and excessive fuel consumption in orbit, but remained controllable. An attempted maneuver on the 22nd revolution still showed problems with the control system. It malfunctioned yet again during retrofire, leading to a steeper than planned reentry and a 300 mm hole being burned in the heat shield. Although such an event would be lethel to any human occupants, the capsules recovery systems operated and the capsule crashed through the ice of the frozen Aral Sea, hundreds of kilometers short of its landing zone. The spacecraft finally sank in 10 meters of water and has to be retrieved by divers. However, the mission was "good enough" for the next mission set to be a manned two-craft docking and crew transfer space spectacular.
Text comes from NASA NSSDC Master Catalog (http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=1967-009A)
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In his presentation, Friedman described the Cosmos 1 project, the Planetary SocietyÂ’s prototype solar sailboat, which it hopes to launch in late 2003 in cooperation with RussiaÂ’s Babakin Space Center and the Russian Academy of SciencesÂ’ Space Research Institute.
The project is funded by Cosmos Studios, a science-based media venture run by Ann Druyan (Planetary Society co-founder Carl SaganÂ’s widow), the A&E Network, and Planetary Society members, and is the first space mission by a public-interest organization without government funding.
Cosmos 1 is to be launched into an 800-kilometer circular, near-polar orbit of Earth.
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