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Class: Planetary. Type: Mars Orbiter. Destination: Mars. Nation: Russia. Manufacturer: Lavochkin. Mars probe intended to enter Martian orbit and comprehensively photograph Mars.
Mars M-69 Chronology
- 1969 March 27 - M-69 s/n 521 - Program: Mars. Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Complex: LC81/23. Launch Vehicle: Proton. FAILURE: T+51s payload shroud failed. Second stage continued but third stage failed to ignite.
Mars probe intended to enter Martian orbit and comprehensively photograph Mars, together with a landing probe.
- 1969 April 2 - M-69 s/n 522 - Program: Mars. Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Complex: LC81/24. Launch Vehicle: Proton. FAILURE: First stage - 1 x RD-253 fire beginning at T+ 0.02 sec, rocket crashed near pad.
Mars probe intended to enter Martian orbit and comprehensively photograph Mars, together with a landing probe. Further Mars launches during the 1969 launch window were cancelled when this attempt resulted in a major accident, which almost wiped out all of the leaders of the space industry. The Proton rocket lifted off, but one engine failed. The vehicle flew at an altitude of 50 m horizontally, finally exploding only a short distance from the launch pad, spraying the whole complex with poisonous propellants that were quickly spread by the wind. Everyone took off in their autos to escape, but which direction to go? Finally it was decided that the launch point was the safest, but this proved to be even more dangerous - the second stage was still intact and liable to explode. The contamination was so bad that there was no way to clean up - the only possibility was just to wait for rain to wash it away. This didn't happen until the Mars launch window was closed, so the first such probe was not put into space until 1971. This accident also severely damaged plans to divert attention from America's Apollo programme during the rest of 1969. 10-12 UR-500K launches had been intended to land on the moon lunar soil return and rover robots to supplement the N1 launches.
Bibliography:- Kaesmann, Ferdinand, et. al., Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, "Proton - Development of A Russian Launch Vehicle", 1998, Volume 51, page 3.
- Novosti Kosmonavtiki, "Na Mars!", 1996, Issue 20, page 53.
- Vladimirov, A, Novosti kosmonavtiki, "Tablitsa zapuskov RN 'Proton' i 'Proton K'", 1998, Issue 10, page 25.
- National Space Science Center Planetary Page, As of 19 February 1999.. Web Address when accessed: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planetary_home.html.
- Chertok, Boris Yevseyevich, Raketi i lyudi, Mashinostroenie, Moscow, 1994-1999.. Web Address when accessed: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20050010181_2005010059.pdf.
- Kamanin, N P, Skritiy kosmos, Infortext, Moscow, 1995.
- Melnik, T G, Voenno-Kosmicheskiy Siliy, Nauka, Moscow, 1997..
- Siddiqi, Asif A, The Soviet Space Race With Apollo, University Press of Florida, 2003.
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© Mark Wade, 1997 - 2008 except where otherwise noted.
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 | Mars probe
Mars probe configuration with double re-entry vehicles believed planned for the cancelled 1969 or 1975 launch series....
Credit- © Mark Wade
Mars probe configuration with double re-entry vehicles believed planned for the cancelled 1969 or 1975 launch series. |
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