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  Luna 15: Soviet attempt to scoop Apollo 11

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Author Topic:   Luna 15: Soviet attempt to scoop Apollo 11
Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 43743
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 07-04-2009 09:18 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Previously unheard recordings from the Luna 15 mission were released today (July 4, 2009) by the University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics.
...in July 1969 the telescopes at Jodrell Bank were tracking the American's Eagle Lander carrying astronauts onto the surface of the Moon.

At the same time Jodrell Bank scientists were also tracking the unmanned Soviet spacecraft Luna 15, which was trying to land on the Moon, collect samples of lunar soil and rock and then return to Earth to scoop the US Apollo 11 mission.

The data captured by the Lovell radio telescope revealed this rocket orbited the Moon and crash-landed onto its surface at 15:50 on 21st July - just a few hours before the Americans lifted off from the Moon's surface.

In the newly released recordings, which were made over three days in mid-July of 1969, Sir Bernard Lovell - founder of the Jodrell Bank Observatory and the man behind the famous Lovell radio telescope - can be heard narrating events. Transmissions from the Apollo 11 astronauts can also be heard in the background.

Lasv3
Member

Posts: 431
From: Bratislava, Slovakia
Registered: Apr 2009

posted 07-05-2009 03:57 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Lasv3   Click Here to Email Lasv3     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
We all knew, or believed, that Soviets wanted to steal the American victory in the last minute by bringing the Moon samples automatically. It would be a few grams only, it would not be the manned landing, but their skilled propaganda would definitely make a victory out of it saying, I can imagine, something like "we managed without risking the human lives" or something similar.

If nothing else, in case of Luna 15 success, they would be the first to bring the Moon "rocks" back to Earth and that would overshadow the great achievement of Apollo 11 a little bit for sure.

Therefore I was really relieved to hear that this attempt failed. Not a year after the Soviet tanks overrolled my country in 1968 the Apollo 11 and US victory in the Moon race was a big satisfaction.

Explorer1
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Posts: 213
From: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Registered: Apr 2019

posted 04-24-2020 09:20 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Explorer1     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The Luna 15 probe entered lunar orbit ahead of Apollo 11 but did not land right away. Instead, it waited for the manned lunar landing to happen before attempting its own landing. Why did Luna 15 wait?

Editor's note: Threads merged.

oly
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Posts: 1018
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2015

posted 04-24-2020 09:31 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for oly   Click Here to Email oly     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Luna 15 entered lunar orbit at 10:00 UT on July 17, 1969. Originally, plans were to carry out two orbital corrections, on July 18 and 19 respectively, to put the vehicle on its landing track, but the ruggedness of the lunar terrain prompted a delay.

Instead, controllers spent nearly four days studying data (over 20 communication sessions) to map out a plan of action to account for the rough geography.

Mike Dixon
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Posts: 1440
From: Kew, Victoria, Australia
Registered: May 2003

posted 04-24-2020 09:56 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Mike Dixon   Click Here to Email Mike Dixon     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Very doubtful they'd have beaten Apollo 11 back anyway. In the scheme of things and for such a pivotal moment in history, a good result.

Explorer1
Member

Posts: 213
From: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Registered: Apr 2019

posted 05-01-2020 02:00 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Explorer1     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Do we know what caused Luna 15 to crash?

I would have thought that Russian flight controllers had good maps of the designated landing zone. So where were they getting data from last minute that the terrain was too rugged?

oly
Member

Posts: 1018
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2015

posted 05-01-2020 02:47 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for oly   Click Here to Email oly     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Explorer1:
Do we know what caused Luna 15 to crash?
The answer to your question is in the link I shared in reply to your last question.

During the descent, transmissions from the vehicle abruptly and suddenly ended 237 seconds into the engine firing at 15:50:40 UT. The data seemed to show that the spacecraft was about 2 miles (3 kilometers) above the lunar surface.

Later analysis indicated that Luna 15 had probably crashed onto the side of a mountain (at something like 298 miles per hour or 480 kilometers per hour) as a result of incorrect attitude of the vehicle at the time of ignition of the descent engine — in other words, the spacecraft was probably descending not directly towards the surface, but at a slight angle.

Headshot
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Posts: 905
From: Vancouver, WA, USA
Registered: Feb 2012

posted 05-07-2020 09:52 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Headshot   Click Here to Email Headshot     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Does any cS contributor know if the Luna 15 impact site has been identified via LRO imagery?

All times are CT (US)

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