Luna E-1 No.1

Luna E-1 No.1, also identified by NASA as Luna 1958A, was a Soviet spacecraft intended to impact the Moon. It was the first of four E-1 missions and the first mission of the Luna programme. The 361 kg spacecraft was to release 1 kg of sodium to create a visible 'comet' for tracking from Earth. Launched on 23 September 1958 atop a Luna 8K72 carrier rocket from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, the booster exploded at T+92 seconds due to resonant vibration that ruptured propellant feed lines. The failure was traced to a vibration issue previously encountered on Sputnik 3, which had been thought corrected but was exacerbated by the added Blok E stage altering the booster's length and center of gravity.