Luna E-3 No.1

Luna E-3 No.1
Mission type Lunar flyby
Mission duration Failed to orbit
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type E-3
Manufacturer OKB-1
Launch mass 279 kilograms (615 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date 15 April 1960, 15:06:45 UTC
Rocket Luna 8K72 s/n L1-9
Launch site Baikonur 1/5

Luna E-3 No.1,[1] sometimes identified by NASA as Luna 1960A,[2] was a Soviet spacecraft which was lost in a launch failure in 1960. It was a 279-kilogram (615 lb) Luna E-3 spacecraft,[3] the first of two to be launched,[4] both of which were lost in launch failures.[4] It was intended to fly around the Moon on a circumlunar trajectory in order to image the surface of the Moon, including the far side. The E-3 spacecraft were similar in design to the E-2A which had been used for the earlier Luna 3 mission, however they carried higher resolution cameras, and were intended to make closer flybys.

Launch

Luna E-3 No.1 was launched at 15:06:45 UTC on 15 April 1960, atop a Luna 8K72 carrier rocket,[5] flying from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.[1] The Blok E upper stage cut off prematurely because pad crews had accidentally filled the RP-1 tank only halfway.[5][6] As a result, the spacecraft failed to achieve orbit. Prior to the release of information about its mission, NASA correctly identified that it had been an attempted circumlunar imagery mission.[2]


References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Williams, David R. (6 January 2005). "Tentatively Identified Missions and Launch Failures". NASA NSSDC. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  3. ↑ Wade, Mark. "Luna E-3". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Krebs, Gunter. "Luna E-3". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Wade, Mark. "Soyuz". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  6. ↑ Soviet Robots In The Solar System, Wesley T. Huntress, pp 84

External links