Mars 1 / 2MV-4 Credit - NASA

Typical orbit: 179 km x 249 km at 65 degrees inclination. Mass: 890 kg (1,960 lb). Associated Launch Vehicle: Molniya 8K78.

• 1962 August 25 - Sputnik 19 - Program: Venera, Vostok. Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Vehicle: Molniya 8K78. FAILURE: At T+60 min 50 sec one of the four solid motors of the escape stage's BOZ unit did not fire. The resulting asymmetric torque caused the stage to lose correct attitude and three seconds after ignition of the main engine S1.5400A1 it began to tumble. Mass: 890 kg (1,960 lb). Perigee: 173 km (107 mi). Apogee: 252 km (156 mi). Inclination: 64.90 deg. Period: 88.70 min.

  Attempt to launch a probe towards Mars. The launch went well, but the fourth stage motor burnt for only 45s of the planned 240s. The stage remained in Earth orbit. However Kamanin notes that it was good that the launch of the basic vehicle was a success - it gave the visiting female cosmonauts confidence in the rocket they will have to ride.

• 1962 September 1 - Sputnik 20 - Program: Venera. Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Vehicle: Molniya 8K78. FAILURE: At T+ 61 min 30 sec the fuel valve did not open.; the ignition command was blocked from going to the main engine of Stage 4. Mass: 6,500 kg (14,300 lb). Perigee: 185 km (114 mi). Apogee: 246 km (152 mi). Inclination: 64.70 deg. Period: 88.80 min.

• JPL Mission and Spacecraft Library, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1997. Accessed at: http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/home.html.

• USAF Satellite Database, USAF Institute of Technology, 1995. Accessed at: ftp://archive.afit.af.mil/pub/space/.

• Krebs, Gunter, Gunter's Space Page, University of Frankfurt, 1996. Accessed at: http://www.skyrocket.de/space.

• Novosti Kosmonavtiki, "Otmenenniy Start "Molniya-M"", 1997, Issue 1, page 29.

• Varfolomyev, Timothy, Spaceflight, "Soviet Rocketry that Conquered Space - Part 5", 1998, Volume 40, page 85. 1: Sp 95/37-260; Sp 96/38-31 (8K71 launches); 2: Sp 96/38-48; 3: Sp 96/38-206; Sp 96/38-317 (designatons); 4: Sp 98/40-28; 5:Sp 98/40-85

• McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page, Harvard University, 1997-present. Jonathan McDowell's complete on-line listing of all objects orbited and over 20,000 rocket launches Accessed at: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.