NSSDCA/COSPAR ID: 1965-077A
Launched on 4 October 1965 at 7:56:40 UT, the Luna 7 (Ye-6 no.11) spacecraft was intended to achieve a soft landing on the Moon. However, due to loss of attitude control during the final approach to the lunar surface, the retrorockets were prevented from firing to slow the spacecraft and it impacted the lunar surface at roughly 9 N, 49 W (also given as 9.8 N, 47.8 W) near Kepler Crater in the Sea of Storms on 7 October 1965 at 22:08:24 UT.
The spacecraft was built by design bureau OKB-1 based on the Soviet Ye-6 design, which consisted of a stack of three cylindrical modules. The first module was the Isayev rocket module, which held the main engine, used for midcourse correction and the descent to landing, four thrusters for attitude control, and two cruise modules. The main engine propellant was hypergolic nitric acid and amine, and could produce a thrust of about 45,000 N. The four thrusters were mounted on outriggers and could produce 245 N each. A 5-meter boom would be deployed from the bottom of the spacecraft, used to trigger the final landing sequence. The second module was a hermetically sealed pressurized compartment that contained communication, attitude orientation, an altimeter, and the I-100 control system. It also held the propellant and oxygen.
The third module was the lunar lander, a 58 cm diameter sphere protected by two hemispherical airbags. The 105 kg sphere had a hermetically sealed compartment that held communications apparatus, batteries, thermal control systems, a timer, and the science experiments. The top of the sphere had four petals, which would open up on landing, allowing deployment of four 75 cm whip antennas and the lander camera turret. Control of the lander was done by the timing device onboard or by communication from Earth. The batteries were designed to operate for a total of 5 hours over about 4 days. The scientific payload contained an imaging system and an SBM-10 radiation detector. The three sections had a height of 2.7 meters and a launch mass of 1506 kg.
The mission plan was to initialize the landing sequence at an altitude of about 8300 km. At 70 - 75 km altitude the cruise modules would be jettisoned, the main engine would start, the radar altimeter would be activated, and the lander airbags would inflate. At 250 to 265 meters altitude the main engine would shut off and the four thrusters would ignite. The 5 meter boom would touch the surface first, causing the ejection of the lander, which would hit the surface, cushioned by the airbags, at about 15 m/s. The airbags would deflate, the petals would open, causing the sphere to be oriented correctly, and the antennas and instruments could be deployed.
Launch Date: 1965-10-04
Launch Vehicle: Modified SS-6 (Sapwood) with 2nd Generation Upper Stage + Escape Stage
Launch Site: Tyuratam (Baikonur Cosmodrome), U.S.S.R
Mass: 1504 kg
Questions and comments about this spacecraft can be directed to: Dr. David R. Williams
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