Mars 2M No.522

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2M No.522
Mission typeMars orbiter
Mission durationFailed to orbit
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type 2M
Manufacturer NPO Lavochkin
Launch mass4,850 kg (10,690 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date2 April 1969, 10:33:00 (1969-04-02UTC10:33Z) UTC
Rocket Proton-K/D s/n 233-01
Launch site Baikonur 81/24
 

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. 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 was launched in 1969 as part of the Mars program. Neither launch was successful. [3]

Soviet Union 1922–1991 country in Europe and Asia

The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was a federal sovereign state in northern Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. Nominally a union of multiple national Soviet republics, its government and economy were highly centralized. The country was a one-party state, governed by the Communist Party with Moscow as its capital in its largest republic, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Other major urban centers were Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk, Tashkent, Alma-Ata, and Novosibirsk. It spanned over 10,000 kilometers (6,200 mi) east to west across 11 time zones, and over 7,200 kilometers (4,500 mi) north to south. It had five climate zones: tundra, taiga, steppes, desert and mountains.

An orbiter is a space probe that orbits a planet or other astronomical object.

Radiometer device for measuring the radiant flux (power) of electromagnetic radiation

A radiometer or roentgenometer is a device for measuring the radiant flux (power) of electromagnetic radiation. Generally, a radiometer is an infrared radiation detector or an ultraviolet detector. Microwave radiometers operate in the microwave wavelengths.

Contents

Launch

Mars 2M No.522 was launched at 10:33:00 UTC on 2 April 1969 atop a Proton-K 8K78K carrier rocket with a Block D upper stage, flying from Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 81/24. [1] [4] [5] One of the first stage engines caught fire almost immediately at liftoff. The remaining engines managed to compensate for about 30 seconds of flight, but the thrust section fire eventually resulted in loss of control. [6] The engines shut down, and the rocket fell back to Earth and exploded 41 seconds after ignition. [2]

Scientific Instruments

Scientific instruments on the spacecraft were: [7]

Post-accident effect

Following the crash of the Mars 2M No.522 launch vehicle, the wind spread toxic propellant back across the launch complex, which made the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch complex unusable until rain washed the toxic residuals away. Launch personnel were trapped and unable to leave the cosmodrome as a pool of spilled nitrogen tetroxide was blocking one of the entryways out, while other entryway was blocked by the still-intact second stage of the rocket. By the time this had happened, the alignment of Earth and Mars necessary to launch spacecraft had ended, and the Soviets were 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] The accident left a deep impression on Soviet military personnel attending the launch and helped spur the development of next-generation ballistic missiles with safer solid propellants.

A propellant or propellent is a chemical substance used in the production of energy or pressurized gas that is subsequently used to create movement of a fluid or to generate propulsion of a vehicle, projectile, or other object. Common propellants are energetic materials and consist of a fuel like gasoline, jet fuel, rocket fuel, and an oxidizer. Propellants are burned or otherwise decomposed to produce the propellant gas. Other propellants are simply liquids that can readily be vaporized.

Luna programme Soviet space program

The Luna programme, occasionally called Lunik or Lunnik by western media, was a series of robotic spacecraft missions sent to the Moon by the Soviet Union between 1959 and 1976. Fifteen were successful, each designed as either an orbiter or lander, and accomplished many firsts in space exploration. They also performed many experiments, studying the Moon's chemical composition, gravity, temperature, and radiation.

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Mars 1969B". NASA NSSDC. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
  3. 1 2 Wade, Mark. "Mars M-69". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 8 September 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
  4. ↑ Krebs, Gunter. "Mars M69 #1, #2". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
  5. ↑ Huntress, JR.; Wesley T. Soviet Robots in the Solar System Mission Technologies and Discoveries. ISBN   1283257661. OCLC   1058482743.
  6. ↑ Wade, Mark. "Proton". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
  7. ↑ Siddiqi, Asif A. Deep space chronicle: a chronology of deep space and planetary probes, 1958–2000. OCLC   862770494.


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