| Mission type | Lunar soft-landing lander |
|---|---|
| Operator | OKB-1 |
| COSPAR ID | 1965-018A |
| SATCAT no. | 01246 |
| Mission duration | 5 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Ye-6 |
| Manufacturer | OKB-1 |
| Launch mass | 6530 kg[1] |
| Dry mass | 1470 kg[2] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 12 March 1965 09:25:31 GMT |
| Rocket | Molniya 8K78 s/n G15000-24 |
| Launch site | Baikonur, Site 1/5 |
| Contractor | OKB-1 |
| End of mission | |
| Decay date | 17 March 1965 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric[3] |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee altitude | 195 km |
| Apogee altitude | 248 km |
| Inclination | 64.7° |
| Period | 89.1 minutes |
| Epoch | 12 March 1965 |
Kosmos 60 (Russian: Космос 60 meaning Cosmos 60) was an E-6 No.9 probe (Ye-6 series), launched by the Soviet Union. It was the sixth attempt at a lunar soft-landing mission, with a design similar to that of Luna 4.
Kosmos 60 was launched by a Molniya 8K78 rocket, serial number G15000-24, flying from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The launch took place at 09:25:31 GMT. The spacecraft achieved a low Earth orbit, with a perigee of 195 kilometres (121 mi), an apogee of 248 kilometres (154 mi), an inclination of 64.7°, and an orbital period of 89.1 minutes, but failed to leave orbit for its journey to the Moon due to a failure when the Blok L upper stage failed to fire for the trans-lunar injection burn. Instead, the spacecraft remained stranded in Earth orbit. A later investigation indicated that there might have been a short circuit in the electric converter within the control system of the spacecraft (which also controlled the Blok L stage) preventing engine ignition. It had an on-orbit mass of 1,470 kilograms (3,240 lb). The satellite reentered the Earth's atmosphere on 17 March 1965.
Kosmos 60 carried two instruments: an imaging system and the SBM-10 radiation detector.[4]
