Venera 15

Venera 15
Mission typeVenus orbiter
OperatorSoviet Academy of Sciences[1]
COSPAR ID1983-053A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.14104[2]
Mission duration Overall: 1 year, 1 month, 7 days
At Venus: 9 months
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type4V-2 No. 860[3]
ManufacturerNPO Lavochkin[3]
Launch mass5,250 kg (11,570 lb)[3]
Dry mass4,000 kg (8,800 lb)
Start of mission
Launch dateJune 2, 1983, 02:38:39 (1983-06-02UTC02:38:39) UTC[3]
RocketProton-K/D-1[3]
Launch siteBaikonur 200/39[3]
End of mission
Last contactJanuary 5, 1985 (1985-01-06)[3]
Orbital parameters
Reference systemCytherocentric
Semi-major axis38,848 kilometres (24,139 mi)
Eccentricity0.8211
Pericytherion altitude7,081 kilometres (4,400 mi)
Apocytherion altitude72,079 kilometres (44,788 mi)
Inclination92.5 degrees
Period24 hours
EpochOctober 9, 1983 (1983-10-09)[4]
Venus orbiter
Orbital insertionOctober 10, 1983
Orbits260

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.

  1. ^ "Venera 15". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  2. ^ "Venera 15". N2YO.com. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Siddiqi, Asif A. (2018). Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958–2016 (PDF). The NASA history series (second ed.). Washington, DC: NASA History Program Office. p. 159. ISBN 9781626830424. LCCN 2017059404. SP2018-4041.
  4. ^ "Venera 15 Launch and Orbital Information". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Retrieved November 5, 2019.