NEXT SPACEFLIGHT

Status

Success

Venera 2

Launch Time
Fri Nov 12, 1965 04:46 UTC

First flight of Molniya from the Site 31/6.

Rocket

Molniya
RVSN USSR
Status: Retired
Liftoff Thrust: 4,378 kN
Payload to LEO: 6,000 kg
Payload to GTO: 2,200 kg
Stages: 4
Strap-ons: 4
Rocket Height: 44.23 m
Fairing Diameter: 2.58 m
Fairing Height: 6.74 m

Mission Details

Venera 2

Venera 2, also known as 3MV-4 No.4 was a Soviet spacecraft intended to explore Venus. A 3MV-4 spacecraft launched as part of the Venera programme, it failed to return data after flying past Venus.

The Venera 2 spacecraft was equipped with cameras, as well as a magnetometer, solar and cosmic x-ray detectors, piezoelectric detectors, ion traps, a Geiger counter and receivers to measure cosmic radio emissions. The spacecraft made its closest approach to Venus at 02:52 UTC on 27 February 1966, at a distance of 23,810 kilometres.

During the flyby, all of Venera 2's instruments were activated, requiring that radio contact with the spacecraft be suspended. The probe was to have stored data using onboard recorders, and then transmitted it to Earth once contact was restored. Following the flyby the spacecraft failed to reestablish communications with the ground. It was declared lost on 4 March, 1966. An investigation into the failure determined that the spacecraft had overheated due to a radiator malfunction.

Payloads: 1
Total Mass: 963.0 kg
Heliocentric Orbit

Location

Site 31/6, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

Stats

1965

102nd orbital launch attempt

Molniya

30th mission
8th mission of 1965
14th successful mission
6th consecutive successful mission