| Kosmos 66 | |
| Names List: | Zenit 2-27 |
| Mission Type: | Optical imaging reconnaissance |
| Operator: | OKB-1 |
| Cospar Id: | 1965-035A |
| Satcat: | 1362 |
| Mission Duration: | 8 days |
| Spacecraft Type: | Zenit-2 |
| Manufacturer: | OKB-1 |
| Launch Mass: | 4730 kg[1] |
| Launch Date: | 7 May 1965, 09:50:00 GMT |
| Launch Rocket: | Vostok-2 |
| Launch Site: | Baikonur 31/6 |
| Launch Contractor: | OKB-1 |
| Disposal Type: | Crashed (destroyed) |
| Destroyed: | 15 May 1965 |
| Orbit Epoch: | 7 May 1965 |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric[2] |
| Orbit Regime: | Low Earth |
| Orbit Periapsis: | 202 km |
| Orbit Apoapsis: | 282 km |
| Orbit Inclination: | 65.0° |
| Orbit Period: | 89.3 minutes |
| Apsis: | gee |
| Programme: | Zenit programme Zenit-2 |
| Previous Mission: | Zenit 2-26 |
| Next Mission: | Zenit 2-28 |
| Programme2: | Kosmos (satellites) |
| Previous Mission2: | Kosmos 65 |
| Next Mission2: | Kosmos 67 |
Kosmos 66 (ru|Космос 66 meaning Cosmos 66) or Zenit-2 No.27 was a Soviet, first generation, low resolution, optical film-return reconnaissance satellite launched in 1965. A Zenit-2 spacecraft, Kosmos 66 was the twenty-seventh of eighty-one such satellites to be launched[3] [4] and had a mass of 4730kg (10,430lb).
Kosmos 66 was launched by a Vostok-2 rocket, serial number R15002-04,[5] flying from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The launch took place at 09:50 GMT on 7 May 1965,[6] and following its successful arrival in orbit the spacecraft received its Kosmos designation; along with the International Designator 1965-035A and the Satellite Catalog Number 01362.
Kosmos 66 was operated in a low Earth orbit, on 7 May 1965 it had a perigee of 202km (126miles), an apogee of 282km (175miles), an inclination of 65.0° and an orbital period of 89.3 minutes. On 15 May 1965, after eight days in orbit, the satellite was deorbited so that its return capsule could be recovered and its photos analysed, however, the mission was unsuccessful because a parachute deployment failed and the spacecraft was destroyed in the subsequent crash.