NEXT SPACEFLIGHT

Status

Failure

E-6 n°2 (Luna 4)

Launch Time
Sun Feb 03, 1963 09:29 UTC

First probe aiming to land on the Moon. The launch was a failure due to an error on the Block L stage.

Rocket

Molniya
RVSN USSR
Status: Retired
Liftoff Thrust: 4,378 kN
Payload to LEO: 6,000 kg
Payload to GTO: 2,200 kg
Stages: 4
Strap-ons: 4
Rocket Height: 44.23 m
Fairing Diameter: 2.58 m
Fairing Height: 6.74 m

Mission Details

E-6 n°2 (Luna 4)

E-6 n°2 was a Soviet spacecraft which was lost in a launch failure in 1963. It was a 1,422-kilogram Luna E-6 spacecraft, the second of twelve to be launched, and the second consecutive launch failure. It was intended to be the first spacecraft to perform a soft landing on the Moon, a goal which would eventually be accomplished by the final E-6 spacecraft, Luna 9.

Payloads: 1
Total Mass: 1,422.0 kg
Lunar orbit

Location

Site 1/5, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

Stats

1963

4th orbital launch attempt

Molniya

12th mission
2nd mission of 1963
10th failed mission