| Mission type | Lunar lander Sample return |
|---|---|
| Mission duration | Failed to orbit |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | E-8-5 |
| Manufacturer | NPO Lavochkin |
| Launch mass | 5,600 kilograms (12,300 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 6 February 1970, 04:16:06 UTC |
| Rocket | Proton-K/D s/n 247-01 |
| Launch site | Baikonur 81/23 |
Luna E-8-5 No.405, also known as Luna Ye-8-5 No.405, and sometimes identified by NASA as Luna 1970A,[1] was a Soviet spacecraft which was lost in a launch failure in 1970. It was a 5,600-kilogram (12,300 lb) Luna E-8-5 spacecraft, the fifth of eight to be launched.[2][3] It was intended to perform a soft landing on the Moon, collect a sample of lunar soil, and return it to the Earth.[2]
Launch
Luna E-8-5 No.405 was launched at 04:16:06 UTC on 6 February 1970 atop a Proton-K 8K78K carrier rocket with a Blok-D upper stage, flying from Site 81/23 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.[4] A defective pressure sensor caused the first stage to shut down 128 seconds after launch. The booster crashed downrange.[5] Prior to the release of information about its mission, NASA correctly identified that it had been an attempted sample return mission.[1]
References
- 1 2 Williams, David R. (6 January 2005). "Tentatively Identified Missions and Launch Failures". NASA NSSDC. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
- 1 2 Wade, Mark. "Luna Ye-8-5". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on February 25, 2002. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ↑ Krebs, Gunter. "Luna E-8-5". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ↑ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ↑ Wade, Mark. "Proton". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on September 13, 2008. Retrieved 27 July 2010.