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. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
2. 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. Krebs, Gunter. "Luna E-3". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
5. Wade, Mark. "Soyuz". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
6. Soviet Robots In The Solar System, Wesley T. Huntress, pp 84

External links

• Zarya - Luna programme chronology