... Launch Date: 1968-09-14 . ... Zond 5 was launched from a Tyazheliy Sputnik in Earth parking orbit to make scientific probes during a lunar flyby and to return to Earth. ... The closest distance was 1,950 kilometers (1,212 miles). High-quality photographs of the Earth were taken at a distance of 90,000 kilometers (56,000 miles). ... On September 21, 1968, the re-entry capsule entered the Earth's atmosphere, braked aerodynamically, and deployed parachutes at 7 kilometers (4.35 miles) . ...