- Mars 2M No.522
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Mars 2M No.522 Major contractors NPO Lavochkin Bus Mars 2M Mission type Mars probe Launch date 2 April 1969
10:33:00 UTCCarrier rocket Proton-K/D 8K82K s/n 233-01 Launch site Baikonur Site 81/24 Mass 4,850 kilograms (10,700 lb) Mars 2M No.522,[1] also known as Mars M-69 No.522 and sometimes identified by NASA as Mars 1969B, 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.521, which were launched in 1969 as part of the Mars program. Neither launch was successful.[3]
Mars 2M No.522 was launched at 10:33:00 UTC on 2 April 1969 atop a Proton-K 8K78K carrier rocket with a Blok D upper stage, flying from Site 81/24 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.[1][4] Two hundredths of a second after launch, one of the Proton's first stage engines caught fire and exploded.[5] The rocket continued to fly on its remaining engines for about twenty five seconds, before it pitched over and began to fly horizontally. Around forty one seconds after launch, it came down about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the launch pad.[2] The wind spread toxic propellant back across the launch complex, which made it unusable until rain washed the propellant away. By the time this had happened, the alignment of Earth and Mars necessary to launch spacecraft had ended, and the Soviet Union was unable to launch any further Mars probes until 1971. It also resulted in delays to a number of Luna spacecraft scheduled for launch in 1969.[3]
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 1969B". NASA NSSDC. http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=MARS69b. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ^ a b 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 No.1/2 · 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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