Soyuz 7K-L1 No.5L was launched at 19:07:59 UTC on 22 November 1967 atop a Proton-K 8K78K carrier rocket with a Blok D upper stage, flying from Site 81/24 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

[4] One of the rocket's second stage engines failed to ignite, which caused the launch to be aborted and the spacecraft to separate by means of its SAS launch escape system.

The descent module came down 285 kilometres (177 mi) downrange.

Its landing motors fired prematurely, resulting in a harder landing than expected, and the spacecraft was subsequently dragged 550 metres (1,800 ft) by its parachute.

[5] Prior to the release of information about its mission, NASA correctly identified that it had been a test of a spacecraft intended for crewed lunar flights.