- Mars 2M No.521
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Mars 2M No.521 Major contractors NPO Lavochkin Bus Mars 2M Mission type Mars probe Launch date 27 March 1969
10:40:45 UTCCarrier rocket Proton-K/D 8K82K s/n 240-01 Launch site Baikonur Site 81/23 Mass 4,850 kilograms (10,700 lb) Mars 2M No.521,[1] also known as Mars M-69 No.521 and sometimes identified by NASA as Mars 1969A, was a Soviet spacecraft which was lost in a launch failure in 1969.[2] It consisted of an orbiter and a lander. The spacecraft was intended to image the surface of Mars using three cameras, with images being encoded for transmission back to Earth as television signals. It also carried a radiometer, a series of spectrometers, and an instrument to detect water vapour in the atmosphere of Mars. It was one of two Mars 2M spacecraft, along with Mars 2M No.522, which was launched in 1969 as part of the Mars programme. Neither launch was successful.[3]
Mars 2M No.521 was launched at 10:40:45 UTC on 27 March 1969 atop a Proton-K 8K78K carrier rocket with a Blok D upper stage, flying from Site 81/23 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.[1][4] Fifty one seconds after launch, the payload fairing failed, however the rocket continued to fly normally.[5] During third stage flight, a rotor bearing failed, and the turbopump caught fire. This resulted in an engine failure which occurred 438.66 seconds into the flight, followed by the third stage exploding. Debris fell over the Altai Mountains.[2]
References
- ^ a b McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. http://planet4589.org/space/log/launchlog.txt. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ^ a b "Mars 1969A". NASA NSSDC. http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=MARS69a. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ^ Wade, Mark. "Mars M-69". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/craft/marsm69.htm. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ^ Krebs, Gunter. "Mars M69 #1, #2". Gunter's Space Page. http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/mars-69.htm. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ^ Wade, Mark. "Proton". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/proton.htm. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
External links
- Cornell University's Mars Missions page
- The Soviet Mars program, Professor Chris Mihos, Case Western Reserve University
Failed and cancelled Mars missions Failed at launch Mars 1M program (Mars 1960A and 1960B) · Mars 2MV-4 No.1 · Mars 2MV-3 No.1 · Mariner 3 · Mars 2M No.521 · Mars 2M No.522 · Mariner 8 · Kosmos 419 · Mars 96
Failed en route Mars 1 · Zond 2 · Mars 6 · Mars 7 · Phobos 1 · Mars Observer · Nozomi · Mars Climate Orbiter · Mars Polar Lander · Deep Space 2 · Beagle 2Cancelled (year cancelled) Voyager · Marsokhod (Mars 4NM) · Mars sample return (Mars 5NM) · Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander · NetLander · Mars Telecommunications Orbiter · Beagle 3 · Mars Astrobiology Explorer-Cacher (2011)Categories:- 1969 in spaceflight
- Mars spacecraft
- Soviet Mars probe program
- 1969 in the Soviet Union
- Soviet Union spacecraft stubs
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