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Sputnik 24

NSSDC/COSPAR ID: 1962-062A

Description

Sputnik 24 was an attempted Mars lander mission. The SL-6/A-2-e launcher put the spacecraft and the attached booster upper stage into a 197 x 590 km Earth orbit with an inclination of 64.7 degrees. The total mass of the booster/spacecraft complex (the Tyazheliy Sputnik) was roughly 6500 kg, the Mars spacecraft component comprising about 890 kg of this. The complex broke up during the burn to transfer to Mars trajectory. Five large pieces were tracked by the U.S. Ballistic Missile Early Warning System. The geocentric orbit of the presumed booster decayed on 25 December 1962 and the Mars spacecraft orbit decayed and it re-entered Earth's atmosphere on 19 January 1963.

This spacecraft was originally designated Sputnik 31 in the U.S. Naval Space Command Satellite Situation Summary.

Alternate Names

  • Korabl 13
  • Mars 1962B
  • Beta Xi 1
  • Sputnik 31 (USNSC)
  • 2MV-3 No.1
  • 00451

Facts in Brief

Launch Date: 1962-11-04
Launch Vehicle: Modified SS-6 (Sapwood) with 2nd Generation Upper Stage + Escape Stage
Launch Site: Tyuratam (Baikonur Cosmodrome), U.S.S.R
Mass: 890.0 kg

Funding Agency

  • Unknown (U.S.S.R)

Discipline

  • Planetary Science

Additional Information

Questions or comments about this spacecraft can be directed to: Dr. David R. Williams.

 

Selected References

Shelton, W., Soviet space exploration - the first decade, Arthur Barker Ltd., Unnumbered, London, England, 1969.

Harvey, B., The new Russian space programme from competition to collaboration, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, England, 1996.

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