Kosmos 396 (russian: Космос 396 meaning ''Cosmos 396'') was a test flight of the
Zenit-4M
Zenit (russian: link=no, Зени́т, , Zenith) was a series of military photoreconnaissance satellites launched by the Soviet Union between 1961 and 1994. To conceal their nature, all flights were given the public Kosmos designation.
Des ...
military surveillance satellite. The Zenit satellite's purpose was high resolution photographic reconnaissance. This particular test flight returned a capsule containing exposed film.
See also
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1971 in spaceflight
1971 saw the last three known deaths of cosmonauts of the Soviet space program and the only deaths in space. Their mission was to man humanity's first space station. The experimental bay door failed to separate so the first crew failed to dock ...
References
Kosmos satellites
Zenit-2 satellites
1971 in the Soviet Union
Spacecraft launched in 1971
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