Mission Failure
The rocket lifted off on November 16, 1996 at 20:48:53 UTC. The rocket performed properly up to parking orbit. The planned second burn of the Block D-2 fourth stage failed to take place. The spacecraft separated and then performed its engine burn automatically. Unfortunately, without the fourth stage burn, the spacecraft accelerated itself back into the Earth's atmosphere. The fourth stage re-entered on a later orbit. There is disagreement between American and Russian sources on the timeline.
Read more about this topic: Mars 96
Famous quotes containing the words mission and/or failure:
“We can come up with a working definition of life, which is what we did for the Viking mission to Mars. We said we could think in terms of a large molecule made up of carbon compounds that can replicate, or make copies of itself, and metabolize food and energy. So that’s the thought: macrocolecule, metabolism, replication.”
—Cyril Ponnamperuma (b. 1923)
“It’s a failure of national vision when you regard children as weapons, and talents as materials you can mine, assay, and fabricate for profit and defense.”
—John Hersey (1914–1993)