1959-014A
In Sep 1959 an attempt was made to launch E-1A No. 6, but although the strapons began to fire, the booster core stage failed to ignite properly. The rocket did not take off and was removed from the launch pad. A backup vehicle was called into service with payload E-1A No. 7; E-1A No. 6 was used as a testbed.
The Korolyov team's efforts were crowned with success on the seventh attempt - E-1A No. 7, another AMS `Luna' probe, now known as Luna-2, impacted the lunar surface. It was launched on 1959 Sep 12 and hit the Moon at 30 deg N, 0 deg W at 2102 UTC on Sep 13.
Lunar impact velocity was 3.3km/s at an angle of 60 deg to the surface. The asymptotic geocentric velocity was (if the translation of one source is correct) 2 km/s. Inclination of the orbit was 65 deg.
| AMS Luna-2 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 Sep 12 | 0639:26 | Launch by 8K72 | KB |
| 0644? | Blok A sep | ||
| 0644? | Blok-E burn | ||
| 0651? | Blok-E sep | ||
| 1959 Sep 13 | 2102:23 | Lunar impact | |
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