Kosmos 21 3MV-1A Lunar Flyby Test Spacecraft

Kosmos 21 was the Soviet 3MV-1A No. 1 test-variant spacecraft launched on 11 November 1963 for a lunar/deep-space flyby mission. It was the first of the third-generation 3MV planetary-probe test variants, carrying a radiation detector, charged-particle detector, magnetometer, piezoelectric detector, atomic-hydrogen detector, radio telescope, ultraviolet/X-ray experiment, technology experiment, and plasma engines. After Earth-orbit insertion, a Blok L turbopump failure destroyed the payload before lunar departure.