Function | Carrier rocket |
---|---|
Manufacturer | RKK Energia |
Country of origin | Soviet Union |
Size | |
Mass | 277,000 kg (611,000 lb) |
Stages | 3 |
Capacity | |
Payload to LEO | |
Mass | 4,000 kilograms (8,800 lb) |
Associated rockets | |
Family | R-7 |
Launch history | |
Status | Retired |
Launch sites | Baikonur: LC-1/5 |
Total launches | 9 |
Success(es) | 3 |
Type of passengers/cargo | Luna probes |
First stage (Block B, V, G, D) | |
Powered by | 1 RD-107-8D74-1958 |
Maximum thrust | 990.00 kN |
Burn time | 120 seconds |
Propellant | Kerosene/LOX |
Second stage (Block A) | |
Powered by | 1 RD-108-8D75-1958 |
Maximum thrust | 936.500 kN |
Burn time | 320 seconds |
Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
Third stage (Block E) | |
Powered by | 1 RD-0105 |
Maximum thrust | 49.0 kN |
Burn time | 316 seconds |
Propellant | Kerosene/LOX |
The Luna 8K72 vehicles were carrier rockets used by the Soviet Union for nine space probe launch attempts in the Luna programme between 23 September 1958 and 16 April 1960. [1] Like many other Soviet launchers of that era,the Luna 8K72 vehicles were derived from the R-7 Semyorka design,part of the R-7 (rocket family),which was also the basis for the Vostok and modern Soyuz rocket.
Luna 8K72 was launched nine times from Baikonur LC-1/5: [2]
Launch Date | Serial No. | LS | Payload | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
23.09.1958 | B1-3 | Ba LC-1/5 | Luna E-1 No.1 | Failure |
11.10.1958 | B1-4 | Ba LC-1/5 | Luna E-1 No.2 | Failure |
04.12.1958 | B1-5 | Ba LC-1/5 | Luna E-1 No.3 | Failure |
02.01.1959 | B1-6 | Ba LC-1/5 | Luna 1 | Success |
18.06.1959 | I1-7 | Ba LC-1/5 | Luna E-1A No.1 | Failure |
12.09.1959 | I1-7B | Ba LC-1/5 | Luna 2 | Success |
04.10.1959 | I1-8 | Ba LC-1/5 | Luna 3 | Success |
15.04.1960 | L1-9 | Ba LC-1/5 | Luna E-3 No.1 | Partial Success |
16.04.1960 | L1-9A | Ba LC-1/5 | Luna E-3 No.2 | Failure |
The first flight of a Luna 8K72 (September 1958),which was to launch the Luna E-1 No.1 probe,ended 92 seconds after launch when the rocket broke up from longitudinal ("pogo") oscillations,causing the strap-ons to separate from the vehicle,which then crashed downrange. [3]
The second flight of a Luna 8K72 (October 1958),which was to launch the Luna E-1 No.2 probe,ended 104 seconds after launch when the rocket again disintegrated from vibration.
The third flight of a Luna 8K72 (December 1958),which was to launch the Luna E-1 No.3 probe,ended 245 seconds after launch when the Blok A core stage shut down from loss of engine lubricant.
The resonant vibration problem suffered by the 8K72 booster was the cause of a major argument between the Korolev and Glushko design bureaus. It was believed that the vibrations developed as a consequence of adding the Blok E upper stage to the R-7,shifting its center of mass.
The first probe launched by a Luna 8K72 to reach orbit was Luna 1,launched on 2 January 1959,which was intended as a lunar impactor mission. [4] Luna 1 instead passed within 5,995 kilometres (3,725 mi) of the Moon's surface 4 January 1959,and then went into orbit around the Sun between the orbits of Earth and Mars. [5]
The fifth flight of a Luna 8K72 (18 June 1959),which was to launch the Luna E-1A No.1 probe,ended 153 seconds after launch due to a guidance malfunction of the Blok A core stage,leading to engine shutdown. [6]
Luna 2 was launched by a Luna 8K72 on 12 September 1959. It was the first spacecraft to impact the lunar surface.
The final successful launch of a Luna 8K72 took place on 4 October 1959. The Luna 3 spacecraft took the first photographs of the far side of the Moon.
The eighth flight of a Luna 8K72 (March 1960),which was to launch the Luna E-3 No.1 probe,ended 435 seconds after launch when the Blok E upper stage developed insufficient thrust,causing the Luna probe to reenter the atmosphere and burn up.
The ninth flight of a Luna 8K72 (April 1960),which was to launch the Luna E-3 No.2 probe,failed when the Blok G strap-on booster developed only 75% thrust at liftoff,breaking away from the launch vehicle,which then disintegrated,the strap-ons flying in random directions and exploding as they impacted the ground. The Blok A core stage then crashed into a salt lake.
Soyuz is a family of expendable Russian and Soviet carrier rockets developed by OKB-1 and manufactured by Progress Rocket Space Centre in Samara,Russia. The Soyuz is the rocket with the most launches in the history of spaceflight.
The R-7 Semyorka,officially the GRAU index 8K71,was a Soviet missile developed during the Cold War,and the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile. The R-7 made 28 launches between 1957 and 1961. A derivative,the R-7A,was operational from 1960 to 1968. To the West it was unknown until its launch. In modified form,it launched Sputnik 1,the first artificial satellite,into orbit,and became the basis for the R-7 family which includes Sputnik,Luna,Molniya,Vostok,and Voskhod space launchers,as well as later Soyuz variants. Various modifications are still in use and it has become the world’s most reliable space launcher.
The Voskhod programme was the second Soviet human spaceflight project. Two one-day crewed missions were flown using the Voskhod spacecraft and rocket,one in 1964 and one in 1965,and two dogs flew on a 22-day mission in 1966.
Korabl-Sputnik 2,also known as Sputnik 5 in the West,was a Soviet artificial satellite,and the third test flight of the Vostok spacecraft. It was the first spaceflight to send animals into orbit and return them safely back to Earth,including two Soviet space dogs,Belka and Strelka. Launched on 19 August 1960,it paved the way for the first human orbital flight,Vostok 1,which was launched less than eight months later.
Vostok was a family of rockets derived from the Soviet R-7 Semyorka ICBM and was designed for the human spaceflight programme. This family of rockets launched the first artificial satellite and the first crewed spacecraft (Vostok) in human history. It was a subset of the R-7 family of rockets.
Korabl-Sputnik 3 or Vostok-1K No.3,also known as Sputnik 6 in the West,was a Soviet spacecraft which was launched in 1960. It was a test flight of the Vostok spacecraft,carrying two dogs;Pcholka and Mushka,as well as a television camera and scientific instruments.
Kosmos 140,Soyuz 7K-OK No.3,was an uncrewed flight of the Soyuz spacecraft. It was the third attempted test flight of the Soyuz 7K-OK model,after orbital and launch failures of the first two Soyuz spacecraft.
Zenit was a series of military photoreconnaissance satellites launched by the Soviet Union between 1961 and 1994. To conceal their nature,all flights were given the public Kosmos designation.
Luna E-1 No.1,sometimes identified by NASA as Luna 1958A,was a Soviet Luna E-1 spacecraft which was intended to impact the Moon. It did not accomplish this objective as it was lost in a launch failure. It was the first of four E-1 missions to be launched.
Luna E-1 No.2,sometimes identified by NASA as Luna 1958B,was a Soviet spacecraft which was lost in a launch failure in 1958. It was a 361-kilogram (796 lb) Luna E-1 spacecraft,the second of four to be launched. It was intended to impact the surface of the Moon,and in doing so become the first man-made object to reach its surface.
Luna E-1 No.3,sometimes identified by NASA as Luna 1958C,was a Soviet spacecraft which was lost in a launch failure in 1958. It was a 361-kilogram (796 lb) Luna E-1 spacecraft,the third of four to be launched,all of which were involved in launch failures. It was intended to impact the surface of the Moon,and in doing so become the first man-made object to reach its surface.
The Molniya,GRAU Index 8K78,was a modification of the well-known R-7 Semyorka rocket and had four stages. The rocket was given the name Molniya due to the large number of Molniya communication satellites the rockets launched.
Luna E-3 No.1,sometimes identified by NASA as Luna 1960A,was a Soviet spacecraft which was lost in a launch failure in 1960. It was a 279-kilogram (615 lb) Luna E-3 spacecraft,the first of two to be launched,both of which were lost in launch failures. It was intended to fly around the Moon on a circumlunar trajectory in order to image the surface of the Moon,including the far side. The E-3 spacecraft were similar in design to the E-2A which had been used for the earlier Luna 3 mission. However,they carried higher resolution cameras,and were intended to make closer flybys.
Luna E-3 No.2,sometimes identified by NASA as Luna 1960B,was a Soviet spacecraft which was lost in a launch failure in 1960. It was a 279-kilogram (615 lb) Luna E-3 spacecraft,the second of two to be launched,both of which were lost in launch failures. It was intended to fly around the moon on a circumlunar trajectory in order to image the surface of the Moon,including the far side. The E-3 spacecraft were similar in design to the E-2A which had been used for the earlier Luna 3 mission. However,they carried higher-resolution cameras,and were intended to make closer flybys.
Luna E-6LS No.112,sometimes identified by NASA as Luna 1968A,was a Soviet spacecraft which was lost in a launch failure in 1968. It was a 1,700-kilogram (3,700 lb) Luna E-6LS spacecraft,the second of three to be launched. The spacecraft was intended to enter Selenocentric orbit,where it would study the Moon,and demonstrate technology for future crewed Lunar missions.
Foton-M No.1 was an uncrewed space mission by the European Space Agency aboard a Russian Soyuz-U rocket that failed to launch successfully. The spacecraft's payload consisted of 44 experiments prepared by the European Space Agency,Fluidpac,BIOPAN-4,Telescience Support Unit,and others. The mission was supposed to consist of 15 days spent in orbit of the Earth and then re-enter for a landing near the Russia-Kazakhstan border.
The Molniya-M,GRAU designation 8K78M,was a Soviet Union launch vehicle derived from the R-7 Semyorka Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
The Vostok-L,GRAU index 8K72 was a rocket used by the Soviet Union to conduct several early tests of the Vostok spacecraft.
The Soyuz was a Soviet expendable carrier rocket designed in the 1960s by OKB-1 and manufactured by State Aviation Plant No. 1 in Kuybyshev,Soviet Union. It was commissioned to launch Soyuz spacecraft as part of the Soviet human spaceflight program,first with 8 uncrewed test flights,followed by the first 19 crewed launches. The original Soyuz also propelled four test flights of the improved Soyuz 7K-T capsule between 1972 and 1974. In total it flew 30 successful missions over 10 years and suffered two failures.
The RD-0109 is a rocket engine burning liquid oxygen and kerosene in a gas generator combustion cycle. It has single nozzle and is an evolution of the RD-0105. It was the engine used on the Vostok Block-E that launched Yuri Gagarin to orbit.
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