Sputnik 4 - KS 1

Spacecraft nº: 68

USSR spacecraft nº: 14

Launch data: Designation 00036 / 1960 Eps 3 / 60005A Launch date 15 May 1960 - 0:00:05 UT Launch site  B, LC1 Launch vehicle  Vostok 8K72 (#L1-11) Satellite type  Vostok-1KP (#1) Mass (kg)  4540 Mission  Piloted spaceship test Earth orbit: Perigee / Apogee  290 x 675 km Inclination  65,02° Period  92,25 min

MIK-2: preparation of Sputnik-4

During 1960 and 1961, in preparing for the manned phase of the Vostok program, the Soviet Union launched a series of satellites under the name "Korabl-Sputnik". A 287t Vostok rocket orbited the Vostok prototype, which carried two solar panels mounted on a boom at front. The primary sensor for the 'Altitude Control System' used an infra-red scanner, which gave trouble, but controlers decided to rely on this anyway, rather than the back-up sun-sensor. On 19 May, during orbit 64, the retro-rocket fired and the craft climbed up to a 190-428ml orbit because it was orientated wrongly. The cabin, which had no heat-shield, then separated; it fell back in Oct. 1965. The intention had been for it to burn up on re-entry. It was decided to fit primary solar and manual back-up orientation systems to the Mk.III manned version. Subsequent KS flights used the Mk.I; Mk.II was the Zenit spy-satellite. End of life Decay 05 Sep 1962 (1960 Eps 1) Decay cabine 15 Oct 1965 (1960 Eps 3) Lifetime cabine 1979,53 days

Mission details:

• The first piloted spaceship ever launched: a 4,540-kg craft (including 2.5 tons capsule) containing a "dummy" spaceman. The primary goal of the mission was to test the basic elements of the vessel, in particular the complex Chayka orientation system, which would put the spacecraft in the proper attitude for reentry. This first Vostok 1 spacecraft was a subvariant designated the 1KP (or Vostok 1P), with the "p" denoting that it was a simple ("prostoy") spacecraft not designed to be recovered from orbit. The spacecraft had no thermal shielding for the spherical descent apparatus and no life support system. Instead of the large ejection seat that would carry a pilot, it carried a mock-up of the contraption to simulate the correct loads. Unlike later Vostok spacecraft, two solar panels shaped like semicircles were installed on a boom heading out forward from the descent apparatus. This system, designated Luch ("ray"), would provide power to the spacecraft as an experiment to evaluate the effectiveness of solar power over chemical batteries. Although the vehicle would burn up on reentry, telemetry data would indicate whether the spacecraft had been properly angled. Total spacecraft mass was 4,540 kilograms. As soon as the spacecraft reach orbit, it was simply designated Korabl-Sputnik ("satellite-ship") and there was no indication that the mission had any relevance to a piloted space effort.
• Planned to last three or four days, the flight proceeded without incident, with successful tests of the electrical and power source systems. Reentry was scheduled for the early morning of May 19. Prior to the scheduled firing of the TDU-1 engine, the control group detected anomalies in the primary system of attitude control, which used the infrared sensor. Although the system as a whole seemed to be functioning fine, the sensor itself was not responding correctly. On the sixty-fourth orbit. the primary system malfunctioned, and the fourteen thrusters inserted the spacecraft into a wrong attitude. The TDU-1 retrorocket automatically fired on time at 2h52 hours Moscow Time, but instead of reentering the atmosphere, the spaceship was boosted into a higher orbit. Its descent capsule decayed more than five years later.

External links:

• Drewexmachina.com: Satellite Information

Astrophilately covers:

Launch cancel & special cancel Kiew.

Cancel Minsk, 1000 orbits.