1VA n°1 (Venera 1)

Launch Failure

Liftoff Time (GMT)

01:18:03

Saturday February 4, 1961

Mission Details

Launch Notes

First probe built to fly over Venus. The Block I third stage engine failed to ignite, resulting in a launch failure.

1VA n°1 (Venera 1)

Wiki

Tyazhely Sputnik, also known by its development name as 1VA n°1 and in the West as Sputnik 7, was a Soviet spacecraft, which was intended to be the first spacecraft to explore Venus. Due to a problem with its upper stage it failed to leave low Earth orbit. In order to avoid acknowledging the failure, the Soviet government instead announced that the entire spacecraft, including the upper stage, was a test of a "Heavy Satellite" which would serve as a launch platform for future missions. The sister probe, Venera 1, successfully launched and was injected into a heliocentric orbit toward Venus one week later, although telemetry on the mission failed a week into flight.

Heliocentric Orbit

1 Payload

648 kilograms

Rocket

Retired
Molniya

Active 1960 to 1967

RKK Energiya logo

Manufacturer

RKK Energiya

Rocket

Height: 44.23m

Payload to Orbit

LEO: 6,000 kg

GTO: 2,200 kg

Liftoff Thrust

4,378 Kilonewtons

Fairing

Diameter: 2.58m

Height: 6.74m

Stages

4

Strap-ons

4

Launch Site

Site 1/5

Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

Fastest Turnaround

23 hr 32 min

Stats

Molniya


3rd

Mission

1st

Mission of 1961

RKK Energiya


21st

Mission

1st

Mission of 1961

1961


2nd

Orbital launch attempt