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Mission type | Lunar lander |
---|---|
Operator | Soviet Union |
COSPAR ID | 1963-008B [1] |
SATCAT no. | 566 [1] |
Mission duration | 12 days (launch to last contact) |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | Ye-6 No.4 [2] |
Manufacturer | OKB-1 |
Launch mass | 1,422 kilograms (3,135 lb) [3] |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | April 2, 1963, 08:04:00 UTC [1] |
Rocket | Molniya-L 8K78/E6 |
Launch site | Baikonur 1/5 [2] |
End of mission | |
Last contact | April 14, 1963 [4] |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Barycentric (Earth-Moon system) |
Semi-major axis | 394,128 kilometres (244,900 mi) |
Eccentricity | 0.772 |
Periapsis altitude | 199 kilometres (124 mi) [5] |
Apoapsis altitude | 694,000 kilometres (431,000 mi) [5] |
Inclination | 65.0 degrees [5] |
Period | 24.21 days [5] |
Epoch | April 2, 1963 [5] |
Lunar flyby (failed landing) | |
Closest approach | April 6, 1963, 1:24 UT [3] |
Distance | 8,336.2 kilometres (5,179.9 mi) |
Luna 4, or E-6 No.4 (Ye-6 series), sometimes known in the West as Sputnik 26, was a Soviet spacecraft launched as part of the Luna program to attempt the first soft landing on the Moon. Following a successful launch, the spacecraft failed to perform a course correction and as a result it missed the Moon, remaining instead in Earth orbit.
Luna 4 was launched by a Molniya-L carrier rocket at 08:16:37 UTC on April 2, 1963. Launch occurred from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. After reaching an initial parking orbit of 167 by 182 kilometres (104 by 113 mi), the rocket's upper stage restarted to place Luna 4 onto a translunar trajectory.
The spacecraft did not perform a required midcourse correction manoeuvre, which resulted in it missing the Moon by 8,336.2 kilometres (5,179.9 mi) at 1:24 UT on April 5, 1963. It then entered a barycentric 90,000 × 700,000 km Earth orbit. A lecture program entitled Hitting the Moon was scheduled to be broadcast on Radio Moscow at 7:45 p.m. the evening of April 5 but was cancelled. The spacecraft transmitted at 183.6 MHz at least until April 6.
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