1962-057A
Shortly after the Venus window closed, the 1962 Mars window opened and 2MV-4 No. 1 was launched, an intended Mars flyby probe. The Blok-L fourth stage on this mission exploded 16s into its burn when a turbopump jammed. A number of debris fragments were tracked by the US, causing some momentary alarm during this Cuban missile crisis period. Again, the launch was not announced by the USSR. It is not clear which of the objects tracked was the rocket body or the BOZ motor. The longest lived objects were BetaIota 3, decayed 1963 Feb 26, and BetaIota 8, decayed Jan 2.
The date of the event is recorded as Oct 29 in Johnson's fragmentation catalog, but that's just the recorded decay date of object 1962 BetaIota 1; it is clear from Russian sources that the explosion was actually on Oct 24.
| 2MV-4 No. 1 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 Oct 24 | 1755:04 | Launch by 8K78 | KB |
| 1800 | Blok-A sep | ||
| 1800 | Blok-I burn | ||
| 1804 | Blok-I sep | 180 x 485 x 64.9 | |
| 1855? | BOZ burn | ||
| 1856? | Blok-L burn | ||
| 1856? | Blok-L exploded | ||
