Courtesy of NASA's National Space Science Data Center
Launch Date/Time: 1965-07-18 at 14:38:00 UTC Launch Site/Country: Tyuratam (Baikonur Cosmodrome), U.S.S.R. Launch Vehicle: Modified SS-6 (Sapwood) with 2nd Generation Upper Stage +
Escape Stage On-orbit dry mass: 960.00 kg. (2,112 lb.)
Description
Zond 3 was launched from a Tyazheliy Sputnik (65-056B) Earth orbiting
platform towards the Moon and interplanetary space. The spacecraft was
equipped with a TV system that provided automatic in-flight film processing.
On July 20, during lunar flyby, 25 pictures of very good quality were taken
of the lunar farside from distances of 11,570 to 9,960 kilometers (7,190
to 6,190 miles). The photos covered 19 million square kilometers (7.3
million square miles) of the lunar surface. Photo transmissions by
facsimile were returned to Earth from a distance of 2.2 million kilometers
(1.4 million miles) and were retransmitted from a distance of 31.5 million
kilometers (19.6 million miles), thus proving the ability of the
communications system. After the lunar flyby, Zond 3 continued space
exploration in a heliocentric orbit.
Space History