Status
Failure
Ye-8 n°201
Wed Feb 19, 1969 06:48 UTC
A few seconds after the launch, the fairing breaks up because of a calculation error. After 50 seconds of flight, the engine shutdown command is sent, and the launcher explodes a few kilometers from the launch pad.
Rocket
Mission Details
Ye-8 n°201
Lunokhod's original primary mission was survey of sites for manned lunar landings and bases. The best landing area having been located, Lunokhod would then provide a radio homing beacon for precision landing of the LK manned spacecraft that would follow. In the event of a rescue mission, the single cosmonaut could walk from the primary and back-up LK lunar landers through use of extra life support supplies aboard the Lunokhod.
After the success of the Apollo 11 and the loss of the moon race, Lunokhod was instead used to explore the lunar surface by robot. This supported the legend that the Soviet Union would not risk cosmonauts in space and had never sought to send a man to the moon.