Committee on Guided Missiles of the Research and Development Board approved recommendation that Army Hermes project "be given the task of providing the National Military Establishment with a continuing analysis of the long-range rocket problem as an expansion of their task on an earth satellite vehicle." References: 17 .

Sky brightness research. Launched at 0802 local time. Reached 32.2 km.

This allowed for full production drawing release to the fabrication shops and the beginning of tests of the spacecraft systems.

Fuel for 3 seconds only, tethered launch

Scheduled for launch at 0430 hours EST, was fired from AMR at 1645 hours EST. The nose cane housed several NASA biological specimens, including 14 mice. References: 439 .

First Chinese missile production factories built: Shenyang (missile frames) Nancheng (engines). References: 87 .

KH-4B. First mission of the KH-4B series. Best film to date. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

First successful circumlunar flight with recovery. Test flight of manned spacecraft; launched from an earth parking orbit to make a lunar flyby and return to earth. On September 18, 1968, the spacecraft flew around the moon at an altitude of 1950 km. High quality photographs of the earth were taken at a distance of 90,000 km. A biological payload of turtles, wine flies, meal worms, plants, seeds, bacteria, and other living matter was included in the flight. Before re-entry the gyroscopic platform went off line due to ground operator failure. However this time the self destruct command was not given. After a ballistic 20G re-entry the capsule splashed down in the Indian Ocean at 32:63 S, 65:55 E on September 21, 1968 16:08 GMT. Soviet naval vessels were 100 km from the landing location and recovered the spacecraft the next day, shipping it via Bombay back to Soviet Union. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 67 , 274 , 296 .

Possible Fractional Orbital Bombardment System test. Investigation of the upper atmosphere and outer space. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

Area survey photo reconnaissance satellite; returned film capsule; separated science capsule. References: 1 , 2 , 6 .

Surplus Soyuz ASTP spacecraft modified with a multi-spectral camera manufactured by Carl Zeiss-Jena in place of the universal docking apparatus. Eight days were spent photographing the earth. Tested and perfected scientific-technical methods and devices for studying the geological characteristics of the earth's surface from outer space for economic purposes. Recovered September 23, 1976 7:42 GMT. Landed 150 km NW Tselinograd. Additional Details: Soyuz 22. References: 1 , 2 , 6 , 32 , 33 .

KH-8 type satellite. Space craft engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A). References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

Photo surveillance; returned film capsule. References: 1 , 2 , 6 .

Ocean monitoring; replaced Cosmos 1260. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

Area survey photo reconnaissance; returned film in two small SpK capsules during the mission and with the main capsule at completion of the mission. References: 1 , 2 , 6 , 69 .

Investigation of the natural resources of the earth in the interests of various branches of the national economy of the USSR and international cooperation. References: 1 , 2 , 6 .

High resolution photo reconnaissance; returned film in two small SpK capsules during the mission and with the main capsule at completion of the mission. References: 1 , 2 , 6 , 179 .

29 US/USSR life science experiments conducted on monkeys, insects, plants, fish, rats. Carried monkeys Zhankonya and Zabiyaka. Cosmos 2044 was the seventh Soviet Biosatellite to orbit the Earth with joint U.S./U.S.S.R. experiments onboard. Hungary, the German Democratic Republic, Canada, Poland, Britain, Romania, Czechoslovakia and the European Space Agency also participated in the mission. The joint U.S./U.S.S.R. experiments were conducted on two rhesus monkeys and ten rats that were flown onboard the Biosatellite. The biological payload on the spacecraft also included fish, amphibians, insects, worms, protozoans, cell cultures and plants. Last launch from LC41. Additional Details: Cosmos 2044. References: 1 , 2 , 6 , 104 , 297 .

Installed Kurs docking system antenna on Kristall module. References: 66 .

After donning spacesuits, the PKhO compartment of the Mir core module was depressurized and the crew entered the dead Spektr module at 20:00 GMT. They reconnected some cables for the solar panel steering mechanism and closed the hatch a half hour later. The PKhO was then repressurized.