Tyazhely Sputnik
| Major contractors | OKB-1 |
|---|---|
| Bus | Venera 1VA |
| Mission type | Venus flyby |
| Launch date | 4 February 1961 01:18:03 UTC |
| Carrier rocket | Molniya 8K78 s/n L1-7 |
| Launch site | Baikonur Site 1/5 |
| Orbital decay | 26 February 1961 |
| COSPAR ID | 1961 Beta 1 |
| Mass | Probe: 644 kilograms (1,420 lb) Total: 6,483 kilograms (14,290 lb) |
| Orbital elements | |
| Regime | Low Earth (achieved) Heliocentric (intended) |
| Inclination | 64.9° |
| Apoapsis | 296 kilometres (184 mi) |
| Periapsis | 179 kilometres (111 mi) |
| Orbital period | 89.25 minutes |
Tyazhely Sputnik, (Russian: Тяжелый Спутник meaning Heavy Satellite), also known by its development name as Venera 1VA No.1,[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. This resulted in the upper stage being considered a separate spacecraft, from which the probe was "launched", on several subsequent missions.[2]
Tyazhely Sputnik was launched at 01:18:03 UTC on 4 February 1961, atop a Molniya 8K78 carrier rocket flying from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.[3] When the upper stage ignited, cavitation in the liquid oxygen flowing through the oxidiser pump caused the pump to fail, resulting in an engine failure eight tenths of a second after ignition.[4] It reentered the atmosphere over Siberia on 26 February 1961.[5]
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.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Zak, Anatoly. "Russia's unmanned missions to Venus". RussianSpaecWeb. http://www.russianspaceweb.com/spacecraft_planetary_venus.html. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
- ^ Wade, Mark. "Venera 1VA". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/craft/venra1va.htm. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
- ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. http://planet4589.org/space/log/launchlog.txt. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
- ^ Wade, Mark. "Soyuz". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/soyuz.htm. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
- ^ "Sputnik 7". NSSDC (NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center). http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1961-002A. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
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