A replica of a Luna E-1 spacecraft |
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| Major contractors | OKB-1 |
|---|---|
| Bus | Luna E-1 |
| Mission type | Lunar impactor |
| Launch date | 23 September 1958 |
| Carrier rocket | Luna 8K72 s/n B1-3 |
| Launch site | Baikonur Site 1/5 |
| Mass | 361 kilograms (800 lb) |
| Orbital elements | |
| Regime | Heliocentric (planned) Failed to achieve orbit |
Luna E-1 No.1,[1] sometimes identified by NASA as Luna 1958A,[2] was a Soviet Luna E-1 spacecraft which was intended to impact the Moon. It did not accomplish this objective as it was lost in a launch failure. It was the first of four E-1 missions to be launched.[3]
Luna E-1 No.1 was a 361-kilogram (800 lb) spacecraft which marked the first Soviet attempt to send a spacecraft to the towards the Moon. It was also the first mission of the Luna programme. The spacecraft was intended to release 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of sodium, in order to create a "comet" of the metal which could be observed from Earth, allowing the spacecraft to be tracked.[4] Prior to the release of information about its mission, NASA correctly identified that it had been an attempted lunar impact mission.[2]
Luna E-1 No.1 was launched on 23 September 1958 atop a Luna 8K72 carrier rocket,[5] flying from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.[1] Ninety two seconds after launch, longitudinal resonance within the rocket's strap-on booster rockets caused the vehicle to disintegrate.[5]
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