Mars 1M Nº 2 (Mars 1960B, Marsnik 2)

USSR

Spacecraft nº:

Russia spacecraft nº: 18

Launch data:

Designation	60F14
Launch date	14 Oct 1960 - 13:51:03 UT
Launch site	B-LC1
Launch vehicle	Molniya 8K78 (LI-5M)
Satellite type	Mars 1M (n°2)
Mission	Mars flyby
Decay	14 Oct 1960

LAUNCH FAILURE: At T+290 sec Stage 3's engine 8D715K failed to ignite because a LOX leak froze kerosene in the fuel inlet to the pump on the launch pad due to a faulty LOX valve seal.

Spacecraft data:

Prime contractor	OKB-1
Customer
Platform
Mass at launch	640 kg (480 kg?)
Dry Mass	kg
Basic shape
Dimension
Solar array
Stabilization
DC power

Mission:

Mars probe intended to photograph Mars on a flyby trajectory. This was the Soviet Union's second attempt for a planetary probe.
The cause of this failure was in place before take off, when a LOX seal in the upper stage began leaking across a kerosine pipe supplying the engine. All went well with the strap-ons and core stage, but at T+290 sec, when the upper stage should have started, the blocked, frozen pipe prevented flow.
The third and fourth stages, along with the payload, burned up over Earth′s atmosphere over eastern Siberia. The Mars flyby had been planned for 15 May 1961.

Ref.: #6b, #7, #8, #102(SL13) - update: 02.01.05

Home