Venera 15
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Mission type | Soviet Academy of Sciences[1] | |
---|---|---|
COSPAR ID | 1983-053A | |
SATCAT no. | 14104[2] | |
Mission duration | Overall: 1 year, 1 month, 7 days At Venus: 9 months | |
Spacecraft properties | ||
Spacecraft type | NPO Lavochkin[3] | |
Launch mass | 5,250 kg (11,570 lb)[3] | |
Dry mass | 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) | |
Start of mission | ||
Launch date | June 2, 1983, 02:38:39 D-1[3] | UTC|
Launch site | Baikonur 200/39[3] | |
End of mission | ||
Last contact | January 5, 1985[3] | |
Orbital parameters | ||
Reference system | Semi-major axis 38,848 kilometres (24,139 mi) | |
Eccentricity | 0.8211 | |
Pericytherion altitude | 7,081 kilometres (4,400 mi) | |
Apocytherion altitude | 72,079 kilometres (44,788 mi) | |
Inclination | 92.5 degrees | |
Period | 24 hours | |
Epoch | October 9, 1983[4] | |
Venus orbiter | ||
Orbital insertion | October 10, 1983 | |
Orbits | 260 | |
Venera → |
Venera 15 (Russian: Венера-15 meaning Venus 15) was a spacecraft sent to Venus by the Soviet Union. This uncrewed orbiter was to map the surface of Venus using high resolution imaging systems. The spacecraft was identical to Venera 16 and based on modifications to the earlier Venera space probes.
Mission profile
Venera 15 was launched on June 2, 1983, at 02:38:39 UTC[3] and reached Venus' orbit on October 10, 1983.[5]
The spacecraft was inserted into Venus orbit a day apart from Venera 16, with its orbital plane shifted by an angle of approximately 4° relative to the other probe. This made it possible to reimage an area if necessary. The spacecraft was in a nearly polar orbit with a
Together with Venera 16, the spacecraft imaged the area from the north pole down to about 30°N latitude (approximately 25% of Venus surface) over the eight months of mapping operations.
Spacecraft structure
The Venera 15 and 16 spacecraft were identical and were based on modifications to the
Both Venera 15 and 16 were equipped with a synthetic-aperture radar (SAR). A radar was necessary in this mission because nothing else would be able to penetrate the dense clouds of Venus. The probes were equipped with on board computers that saved the images until the entire image was complete. This radar system replaced the normal landers that previous Venera probes brought to Venus.
List of spacecraft instruments and experiments:
- Polyus-V Synthetic Aperture Radar
- Omega Radar altimeter
- Infrared Fourier Spectrometer
- Cosmic-Ray Detectors (6 sensors)
- Solar-Plasma Detectors
To get to Venus, Venera 15 was placed in a
of 293 days.See also
References
- ^ a b "Venera 15". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
- ^ "Venera 15". N2YO.com. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
- ^ LCCN 2017059404. SP2018-4041.
- ^ "Venera 15 Launch and Orbital Information". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
- ^ "Missions to Venus and Mercury". The Planetary Society. Retrieved November 6, 2019.