|Operator||JPL - NASA| |Launch date||9 May 1971 at 01:11:01 UTC|
|Launch vehicle||Atlas-Centaur SLV-3C| Mariner-H (Mariner Mars
'71), also commonly known as Mariner 8, was (along with Mariner
9) part of the Mariner Mars 71 project. It was intended to go
into Mars orbit and return images and data. A launch vehicle
failure prevented Mariner 8 from even achieving an Earth orbit
and the spacecraft splashed into the Atlantic Ocean shortly
after launch. Mission description  Mariner 8 was launched on an
Atlas-Centaur SLV-3C booster (AC-24). The main Centaur engine
was ignited 265 seconds after launch, but the upper stage began
to oscillate in pitch and tumbled out of control. The Centaur
stage shut down 365 seconds after launch due to starvation
caused by the tumbling. The Centaur and spacecraft payload
separated and re-entered the Earth's atmosphere approximately
1500 km downrange and fell into the Atlantic Ocean about 560 km
north of Puerto Rico. Mariner Mars 71 Project  The Mariner Mars
71 project consisted of tw