A replica of an E-1 spacecraft
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| Mission type | Lunar impactor |
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| Operator | Soviet space program |
| Mission duration | Failed to orbit |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | OKB-1 |
| Launch mass | 361 kilograms (796 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 4 December 1958, (1958-12-04) |
| Rocket | Luna 8K72 s/n B1-5 |
| Launch site | Baikonur 1/5 |
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Luna 1 →
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Luna E-1 No.3,[1] sometimes identified by NASAasLuna 1958C,[2] was a Soviet spacecraft which was lost in a launch failure in 1958. It was a 361-kilogram (796 lb) Luna E-1 spacecraft, the third of four to be launched,[3] all of which were involved in launch failures.[4] It was intended to impact the surface of the Moon, and in doing so become the first man-made object to reach its surface.
The spacecraft was intended to release 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of sodium, in order to create a cloud of the metal which could be observed from Earth, allowing the spacecraft to be tracked.[5] Prior to the release of information about its mission, NASA correctly identified that it had been an attempted Lunar impact mission.[2]
Luna E-1 No.3 was launched on 4 December 1958 atop a Luna 8K72 carrier rocket,[4] flying from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.[1] Two hundred and forty five seconds into the flight, a hydrogen peroxide pump seized up due to loss of lubrication, which caused the rocket's core stage engines to fail.[4]
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Payloads are separated by bullets ( · ), launches by pipes ( | ). Crewed flights are indicated in underline. Uncatalogued launch failures are listed in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are denoted in (brackets). |
