On this day in history, 1972, the Soviet spacecraft Venera 8 was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It made the first successful landing on the day side of Venus.
Yesterday: Goddard’s L-13 Rocket Reaches 9,000 Ft.
The 495-kilogram lander was designed to withstand pressures of 105 atmospheres, compared to its predecessor (Venera 7), which was created to withstand 180 atmospheres. Venera 8 also carried additional scientific instruments, including temperature, pressure, and light sensors, altimeter, gamma ray spectrometer, gas analyzer, and radio transmitters.
Venera 8 made one mid-course correction on April 6, 1972; however, the lander eventually separated from the flyby bus and entered the Venusian atmosphere on July 22, 1972.
The lander was traveling at a velocity of 11.6 kilometers per second. The lander touched down on Venus about 500 kilometers from the morning terminator on the sunlit side of the planet.
Filed Under: Aerospace + defense
