"Sputnik 25" redirects here. For the spacecraft identified as Sputnik 25 before the USNSC revised its naming of Soviet spacecraft, see Venera 2MV-2 No.1
Luna E-6 No.2, also identified as No.1, and sometimes known in the West as Sputnik 25, was a Soviet spacecraft which launched in 1963, but was placed into a useless orbit due to a problem with the upper stage of the rocket that launched it. It was a 1,500-kilogram (3,300 lb) Luna Ye-6 spacecraft,[2] the first of twelve to be launched.[3] It was intended to be the first spacecraft to perform a soft landing on the Moon, a goal which would eventually be accomplished by the final Ye-6 spacecraft, Luna 9.
Luna E-6 No.2 was launched at 08:49 UTC on 4 January 1963, atop a Molniya-L 8K78L carrier rocket,[3] flying from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.[4] The lower stages of the rocket performed nominally, delivering the upper stage and payload into low Earth orbit, but a transformer in the upper stage malfunctioned, which resulted in its ullage motors failing to ignite when the stage began its start-up sequence, sixty-six minutes after launch.[5][6] It remained in low Earth orbit until it decayed on 11 January 1963.[1] It was the first spacecraft to be launched in 1963, and consequently the first to be assigned an International Designator, under the new system which had been introduced at the start of the year.[4]
The spacecraft consisted of a cylindrical section containing rockets and fuel for maneuvering, attitude control and landing, as well as radio transmitters, and a 100-kilogram (220 lb) instrumented probe, which would have been ejected onto the surface after the spacecraft landed, carrying a camera and devices to measure radiation. It was intended to return data on the mechanical characteristics of the lunar surface, the hazards presented by the topology--such as craters, rocks, and other obstructions--and radiation, in preparation for future crewed landings.
The designations Sputnik 33, and later Sputnik 25 were used by the United States Naval Space Command to identify the spacecraft in its Satellite Situation Summary documents, since the Soviet Union did not release the internal designations of its spacecraft at that time, and had not assigned it an official name due to its failure to depart geocentric orbit.[7]
References
^ abcMcDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
^Wade, Mark. . Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on February 25, 2002. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
^ abKrebs, Gunter. "Luna E-6". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
^ abMcDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
^Wade, Mark. . Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 7 January 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
^Christy, Robert. "USSR - Luna". Zarya.info. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
^Robbins, Stuart J. (11 January 2006). . Journey Through The Galaxy. Archived from the original on 4 February 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
luna, sputnik, redirects, here, spacecraft, identified, sputnik, before, usnsc, revised, naming, soviet, spacecraft, venera, also, identified, sometimes, known, west, sputnik, soviet, spacecraft, which, launched, 1963, placed, into, useless, orbit, problem, wi. Sputnik 25 redirects here For the spacecraft identified as Sputnik 25 before the USNSC revised its naming of Soviet spacecraft see Venera 2MV 2 No 1 Luna E 6 No 2 also identified as No 1 and sometimes known in the West as Sputnik 25 was a Soviet spacecraft which launched in 1963 but was placed into a useless orbit due to a problem with the upper stage of the rocket that launched it It was a 1 500 kilogram 3 300 lb Luna Ye 6 spacecraft 2 the first of twelve to be launched 3 It was intended to be the first spacecraft to perform a soft landing on the Moon a goal which would eventually be accomplished by the final Ye 6 spacecraft Luna 9 E 6 No 2Mission typeLunar landerCOSPAR ID1963 001B 1 SATCAT no 522Mission durationLaunch failureSpacecraft propertiesSpacecraft typeYe 6ManufacturerOKB 1Launch mass1 500 kilograms 3 300 lb Start of missionLaunch date4 January 1963 08 49 1963 01 04UTC08 49Z UTCRocketMolniya L 8K78L s n T103 09Launch siteBaikonur 1 5End of missionDecay date11 January 1963 1963 01 12 Orbital parametersReference systemGeocentricRegimeLow Earth achieved Heliocentric intended Perigee altitude178 kilometres 111 mi Apogee altitude194 kilometres 121 mi Inclination64 7 degreesPeriod88 21 minutesEpoch11 January 1963 1 Luna Luna E 3 No 2Luna 4 Luna E 6 No 2 was launched at 08 49 UTC on 4 January 1963 atop a Molniya L 8K78L carrier rocket 3 flying from Site 1 5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome 4 The lower stages of the rocket performed nominally delivering the upper stage and payload into low Earth orbit but a transformer in the upper stage malfunctioned which resulted in its ullage motors failing to ignite when the stage began its start up sequence sixty six minutes after launch 5 6 It remained in low Earth orbit until it decayed on 11 January 1963 1 It was the first spacecraft to be launched in 1963 and consequently the first to be assigned an International Designator under the new system which had been introduced at the start of the year 4 The spacecraft consisted of a cylindrical section containing rockets and fuel for maneuvering attitude control and landing as well as radio transmitters and a 100 kilogram 220 lb instrumented probe which would have been ejected onto the surface after the spacecraft landed carrying a camera and devices to measure radiation It was intended to return data on the mechanical characteristics of the lunar surface the hazards presented by the topology such as craters rocks and other obstructions and radiation in preparation for future crewed landings The designations Sputnik 33 and later Sputnik 25 were used by the United States Naval Space Command to identify the spacecraft in its Satellite Situation Summary documents since the Soviet Union did not release the internal designations of its spacecraft at that time and had not assigned it an official name due to its failure to depart geocentric orbit 7 References Edit a b c McDowell Jonathan Satellite Catalog Jonathan s Space Page Retrieved 28 July 2010 Wade Mark Luna E 6 Encyclopedia Astronautica Archived from the original on February 25 2002 Retrieved 29 July 2010 a b Krebs Gunter Luna E 6 Gunter s Space Page Retrieved 29 July 2010 a b McDowell Jonathan Launch Log Jonathan s Space Page Retrieved 29 July 2010 Wade Mark Soyuz Encyclopedia Astronautica Archived from the original on 7 January 2010 Retrieved 29 July 2010 Christy Robert USSR Luna Zarya info Retrieved 29 July 2010 Robbins Stuart J 11 January 2006 Soviet Craft Sputnik Journey Through The Galaxy Archived from the original on 4 February 2009 Retrieved 29 July 2010 Spaceflight portal Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Luna E 6 No 2 amp oldid 1086041056, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
