Wednesday, March 26, 1980
Monday, March 24, 1980
Sunday, March 23, 1980
Mars 2
1971-045A
The first of the new generation planetary probes to leave Earth orbit was M-71 (3M) No. 171, launched in May 1971. It was named Mars-2.
Mars-2 released its landing capsule on Nov 27 and then entered Mars orbit. It operated for almost a year.
| Mars-2 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 May 19 | 1622:44 | Launch by Proton | KB |
| 1625 | Stage 1 sep | ||
| 1627 | Stage 2 sep | ||
| 1632 | Stage 3 MECO | ||
| 1632 | Stage 3 sep | ||
| 1636 | Blok-D burn | ||
| 1638? | Blok-D MECO-1 | ||
| 1745? | Blok-D MES-2 | ||
| 1750? | Blok-D MECO-2 | ||
| 1752? | Blok-D sep | ||
| 1971 Jun 5 | TCM-1 | ||
| 1971 Nov 20 | TCM-2 | ||
| 1971 Nov 27 | Mars approach 70000 km | 2350 x Inf | |
| 1971 Nov 27 | 1550? | SA sep | |
| 1971 Nov 27 | 1800? | TCM <100m/s | 1380 x Inf |
| 1971 Nov 27 | 2019 | MOI 1.190 km/s | 1078.0 1380 x 25000 x 48.9 |
| 1972 Aug 22 | End of transmissions | ||
The Mars-2 Spuskaemiy Apparat (Mars-2 Descent Craft) separated from the Mars-2 orbital module on 1971 Nov 27 during its approach to the Red Planet.
The SA separates from the OB. The TDU (braking engine) ignites, sending the SA on an entry trajectory. The SA orients to put the TE (teplovoy ekran, heat shield) forwards. The DU separates. After entry, parachute deploys and TE separates. When the altimeter indicates 20m, the DMP (solid fuel soft landing engine) is deployed on the main parachute. After landing, the upper heatshield is jettisoned and the four petals open to reveal the camera.
SA entry speed is 5.80 km/s. Mass of the SA is 358 kg at landing.
In this case, a software error caused an incorrect braking burn and the pericenter was too small, causing a steep reentry angle and impact prior to parachute deployment.
| Mars-2 SA | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 Nov 27 | 1550? | Separate from Mars-2 | |
| 1605? | DU burn | ||
| 1971 Nov 27 | 2019? | Entry | |
| 2022 | Impact Mars, 45S 302W | ||
Saturday, March 22, 1980
Friday, March 14, 1980
Kosmos 315
1969-107A
| Kosmos-315 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 Dec 20 | 0336? | Launch by 11K65M | PL |
| 0338? | Stage 2 burn | ||
| 0344? | Stage 2 coast | ||
| 0409? | Stage 2 burn 2 | ||
| 0409? | Stage 2 sep | ||
| 1969 Dec 21 | 1900 | 95.26 518 x 542 x 74.04 (RAE) | |
| 1972 May 1 | 94.58 489 x 506 x 74.04 (RAE) | ||
| 1979 Mar 25 | Reentered | ||
Thursday, March 6, 1980
Kosmos 29
1964-021A
Zenit-2 No. 19 was launched 12 days after the landing of No. 16 and flew a similar 8-day mission.
| Kosmos-29 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 Apr 25 | 1021 | Launch by Vostok 8A92 | KB LC31 |
| 1026 | Blok-E burn | ||
| 1031 | Blok-E sep | ||
| 89.5 204 x 309 x 65.1 (TASS) | |||
| 1964 Apr 25 | 89.54 220 x 282 x 65.0 | ||
| 1964 Apr 28 | 0500 | 89.50 203 x 296 x 65.0 (RAE) | |
| 1964 May 3 | 0735? | Deorbit | -150? x 212? x 65 |
| 0755? | Landed after 7.9d | ||