NEXT SPACEFLIGHT

Status

Success

Venera 5

Launch Time
Sun Jan 05, 1969 06:28 UTC

Rocket

Molniya-M /Block VL
RVSN USSR
Status: Retired
Liftoff Thrust: 4,391 kN
Payload to LEO: 6,200 kg
Payload to GTO: 2,400 kg
Stages: 4
Strap-ons: 4
Rocket Height: 42.8 m
Fairing Diameter: 2.58 m
Fairing Height: 8.28 m

Mission Details

Venera 5

Venera 5 (in Russian: Венера-5) (manufacturer designation: 2V (V-69)) is a probe from the Soviet Venera space program for the exploration of Venus.

Venera 5 was launched with the aim of obtaining atmospheric data on the planet. The probe was very similar to Venera 4 but of a more robust design.

On May 16, 1969, as the planet's atmosphere approached, a 405 kg capsule containing scientific instruments was dropped by the main probe. The descent was braked by a parachute and for 53 minutes while the capsule was suspended there, data concerning the atmosphere were transmitted. It landed at 3 ° S, 18 ° E, on the night side. In addition to scientific instruments, she had brought a medallion with the coat of arms of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and a bas-relief of Lenin.

The landers of Venera 4, Venera 5 and Venera 6 gave measurements allowing to know the chemical composition of the planet's atmosphere. Knowing that it was very dense, the parachutes had been reduced so that the capsule reached the ground more quickly before it stopped working (as Venera 4 had done).

Payloads: 1
Total Mass: 1,130.0 kg
Heliocentric Orbit

Location

Site 1/5, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

Stats

1969

1st orbital launch attempt

Molniya-M

17th mission
1st mission of 1969
13th successful mission
6th consecutive successful mission