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| A Kosmos 186 launch cover, postmarked in Tartu with a hand cancel on October 28, 1967, one day after the spacecraft’s launch. |
Kosmos 186 and Kosmos 188 were unmanned Soviet Soyuz 7K-OK spacecraft launched between October 27 and November 2, 1967. Their mission demonstrated the first automatic rendezvous and docking of two spacecraft in orbit, an important step in the development of the Soyuz program following the Soyuz 1 accident earlier that year.
Kosmos 186 was launched from Baikonur on October 27, 1967, aboard a Soyuz rocket and served as the active spacecraft, equipped with the Igla automatic rendezvous system. Kosmos 188 followed on October 30 as the passive target vehicle. About 62 minutes after its launch, Kosmos 186 automatically located, approached, and docked with Kosmos 188, achieving the first fully automatic rendezvous and docking of two spacecraft in orbit.
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| A Kosmos 188 launch cover, postmarked in Tartu with a hand cancel on October 31, 1967, one day after the spacecraft’s launch. |
The spacecraft remained connected for about three and a half hours, although an 85-millimeter gap prevented a complete hard and electrical connection. They were then commanded to separate. Kosmos 186’s descent module was recovered on October 31 after a ballistic reentry, while Kosmos 188’s return capsule was lost on November 2 when its self-destruct system was inadvertently activated.
