NW093 1/144 R-7 Luna

Luna 1 Launch Vehicle

2.1.1959 First Lunar Probe

The world's first ICBM became the most often used and most reliable launch vehicle in history. The original core+four strap-on booster missile had a small third stage added to produce the Vostok launch vehicle, with a payload of 5 metric tons.
On January 2nd, 1959, Luna 1 spacecraft was launched by this launch vehicle. Luna 1 passed within 5,995 km of moon but did not hit it as planned due to a failure of the launch vehicle control system. Went into solar orbit and became first manmade object to attain of escape velocity. It went into orbit around the Sun, between the orbits of Earth and Mars. The measurements obtained during this mission provided new data on the Earth's radiation belt and outer space, including the discovery that the Moon had no magnetic field and that a solar wind, a strong flow of ionized plasma emmanating from the Sun, streamed through interplanetary space.