Phobos 1

Phobos 1 was an unmanned Russian space probe launched from the Baikonour launch facility on 7th of July 1988.^[1] It's intended mission was to explore Mars and its moons Phobos and Deimos. The mission failed on 2nd September 1988 when a computer malfunction caused the end-of-mission order to be transmitted to the spacecraft. At the time of launch it was the heaviest interplanetary spacecraft ever launched, weighing in at 6,200kg.^[2]

Flight Plan

It was to take an estimated 200 days for the Phobos 1 space probe to travel from the Earth to Mars. Two mid-course corrections were planned. The first between days 7 and 20, and the second between day 185 and 193. These corrections would place the probe in a highly elliptical orbit around Mars. Next, it was to move into an almost circular observation orbit 350km. After achieving observation orbit the lower stage of the propulsion system would be dropped. The probe would then rendezvous with Phobos; drop a lander containing scientific equipment from an altitude of 50 meters, and move into a final equatorial orbit above Mars where it would study the martian surface and atmosphere.^[3]

Computer Malfunction

On September 2nd, a faulty key-command was sent up to Phobos 1 from ground control in Yevpatoria. A technician unintentionally left out a single hyphen in one of the keyed commands. This minor alteration in code caused the end-of-mission command to reach the spacecraft; shutting down all of the systems aboard Phobos 1.^[4]

Subsequent Investigation

After the incident at Yevapatoria, an investigation was immediately ordered to determine who was responsible for the failure. Nevertheless, disciplinary action was postponed until the completion of the Phobos 2 mission. This was to prevent the demoralizing of the Phobos 2 team. Any penalization of the Phobos 1 team would create anxiety among the Phobos 2 team and reduce the chances of mission success. This postponement of punitive measures was urged by IKI director Roald Sagdeev. He quoted secret service chief Lavrentin Beria saying "Let's make them work for now. We can shoot them all later." The investigation concluded with the dismissal of the ground control commander at Yevapatoria and the acknowledgement that the computer system was badly designed.^[5]

References

Kosmos 57

Kosmos 57 was an unmanned Soviet Spacecraft launched on 22 February 1965. The craft was essentially an unmanned version of Voskhod 2. Its primary mission was to test the Volga airlock. The test was successful, but the craft was lost shortly after.

Mission

Kosmos 57 was launched three weeks before Voskhod 2. The primary objective of Voskhod 2 was to conduct a spacewalk, which relied on the inflatable Volga airlock. Kosmos 57 was to test the performance of the airlock. The airlock opened and closed successfully and the craft was re-pressurized without flaw.

Destruction

The unmanned spacecraft was destroyed on it's third orbit around Earth. Two ground control stations, one in Klyuchi and the other in Yelisovo, sent simultaneous commands instructing the craft to depressurize its airlock. The craft interpreted this as an order to begin descent and a propulsion error put the craft into a tumble. Approximately twenty-nine minutes later the craft's automatic self-destruct function activated. The craft was completely destroyed to prevent sensitive information from literally falling into enemy hands. Over 100 pieces of were tracked, falling into the ocean between 31 March and 6 April 1945.

^ Huntress, Wesley; Marov, Mikhail (2011). Soviet Robots in the Solar System. Chichester, UK: Praxis Publishing. p. 368. ISBN 978-1-4419-7897-4.
^ Harvey, Brian (2007). Russian Planetary Exploration. Chichester, UK: Praxis Publishing. p. 251. ISBN 978-0-387-46343-8.
^ Harvey, Brian (2007). Russian Planetary Exploration. Chichester: Praxis Publishing. pp. 246–248. ISBN 978-0-387-46343-8.
^ Wesley, Huntress; Marov, Mikhail (2011). Soviet Robots in the Solar System. Chichester, UK: Praxis Publishing. p. 380. ISBN 978-1-4419-7897-4.
^ Harvey, Brian (2007). Russian Planetary Exploration. Chichester: Praxis Publishing. pp. 251–252. ISBN 978-0-387-46343-8.

[1] Huntress, Wesley; Marov, Mikhail (2011). Soviet Robots in the Solar System. Chichester, UK: Praxis Publishing. p. 368. ISBN 978-1-4419-7897-4.

[2] Harvey, Brian (2007). Russian Planetary Exploration. Chichester, UK: Praxis Publishing. p. 251. ISBN 978-0-387-46343-8.

[3] Harvey, Brian (2007). Russian Planetary Exploration. Chichester: Praxis Publishing. pp. 246–248. ISBN 978-0-387-46343-8.

[4] Wesley, Huntress; Marov, Mikhail (2011). Soviet Robots in the Solar System. Chichester, UK: Praxis Publishing. p. 380. ISBN 978-1-4419-7897-4.

[5] Harvey, Brian (2007). Russian Planetary Exploration. Chichester: Praxis Publishing. pp. 251–252. ISBN 978-0-387-46343-8.

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