Mission type Lunar lander Spacecraft type E-6 Launch date 21 March 1964 | Mission duration Failed to orbit Launch mass 1,422 kg Launch site Baikonur Cosmodrome | |
Manufacturer S. P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia People also search for Luna E-6 No.5, Luna E-8 No.201 | ||
Luna E-6 No.6, sometimes identified by NASA as Luna 1964A, was a Soviet spacecraft which was lost in a launch failure in 1964. It was a 1,422-kilogram (3,135 lb) Luna E-6 spacecraft, the fourth of twelve to be launched, 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.
Luna E-6 No.6 was launched at 08:15:35 UTC on 21 March 1964, atop a Molniya-M 8K78M carrier rocket, flying from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. A connecting rod in the Blok I stage broke, leading to a propellant valve failing to open completely. The stage developed insufficient thrust to reach orbit and it shut down at T+489 seconds. The upper stages and probe reentered the atmosphere and broke up. Prior to the release of information about its mission, NASA correctly identified that it had been an attempt to land a spacecraft on the Moon.