File:1966_CPA_3379.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Key facts
- Mission type
- Venus atmospheric probe with flyby spacecraft
- Operator
- OKB-1
- Cospar id
- 1965-092A
- Mission duration
- 105 days
- Spacecraft
- 3MV-3 No.1
- Manufacturer
- Lavochkin
- Launch mass
- 960 kg (2,120 lb)
- Landing mass
- 377 kg (831 lb)
- Dimensions
- 4.2 m × 1.1 m (13.8 ft × 3.6 ft)
- Launch date
- 16 November 1965, 04:19 ( 1965-11-16UTC04:19Z ) UTC
- Rocket
- Molniya
- Launch site
- Baikonur 31/6
- Reference system
- Heliocentric
- Perihelion altitude
- 0.68 AU
- Aphelion altitude
- 0.99 AU
- Inclination
- 4.29°
- Period
- 277 days
- Impact date
- 1 March 1966
via Wikipedia infobox
~5 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Venera 3 (Russian: Венера-3 meaning Venus 3) was a Venera program space probe that was built and launched by the Soviet Union to explore the surface of Venus. It was launched on 16 November 1965 at 04:19 UTC from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, USSR. The probe comprised an entry probe, designed to enter the Venus atmosphere and parachute to the surface, and a carrier/flyby spacecraft, which carried the entry probe to Venus and also served as a communications relay for the entry probe.
History
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Venera 3” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.