Editing Luna 6 (section)

==Failure==
The ''Luna 6'' mission proceeded as planned until a scheduled mid-course correction late on 9 June. Although the spacecraft's [[S5.5A]] main engine ignited on time, it failed to cut off and continued to fire until its propellant supply was exhausted. An investigation later determined that the problem had been due to a command which had been mistakenly sent to the timer that ordered the main engine to shut down.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Zak|first1=Anatoly|title=Russia's Unmanned Missions|url=http://www.russianspaceweb.com/spacecraft_planetary_lunar.html|website=Russian Space Web|access-date=2 December 2016}}</ref>

Despite the spacecraft being unable to land on the Moon, controllers used the spacecraft to simulate a landing; a task which was satisfactorily accomplished. ''Luna 6'' flew past the Moon late on 11 June,<ref name=Luna6>{{cite web|last1=NASA|title=Luna 6|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1965-044A|website=NASA|access-date=2 December 2016}}</ref> with a closest approach of {{convert|159612.8|km}}. Contact was maintained to a distance of {{convert|600000|km}} from Earth.