Venera 15
Venusian topography by Veneras 15/16 | |
| Mission type | Venus orbiter |
|---|---|
| Operator | Soviet Academy of Sciences |
| COSPAR ID | 1983-053A |
| SATCAT no. | 14104 |
| Mission duration | Overall: 1 year, 1 month, 7 days At Venus: 9 months |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | 4V-2 No. 860 |
| Manufacturer | NPO Lavochkin |
| Launch mass | 5,250 kg (11,570 lb) |
| Dry mass | 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | June 2, 1983, 02:38:39 UTC |
| Rocket | Proton-K/D-1 |
| Launch site | Baikonur 200/39 |
| End of mission | |
| Last contact | January 5, 1985 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Cytherocentric |
| 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 |
| Venus orbiter | |
| Orbital insertion | October 10, 1983 |
| Orbits | 260 |
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.