Kosmos 419

Kosmos 419 was also known as 3MS-No.170 orbiter. It was a failed Soviet spacecraft to Mars. It was launched on 10 May 1971 from Baikanour launch pad, Russia and Kosmos was carried by Proton K/D rocket. Due to malfunction of rocket engine, it decayed in low earth orbit after launch on 12 May 1971.

SIMULTANEOUS MISSION:

     Simultaneously United states and Russia made new attempts to reach Red planet. Mariner8 and Mariner9 of NASA, Kosmos 419 of Russia. But Mariner-8 lost in launch failure two days before Kosmos 419 was launched. This spacecraft also lost on 12 May 1971. Mariner-9 became the first spacecraft to orbit Mars.

REASON FOR LAUNCH FAILURE:

     Proton K/D's Block-D ignition timer was incorrectly set. It was set to ignite 1.5 years after launch instead of 1.5 hours.