SOVIET SPACE EVENTS DURING 1967

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005724121
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: June 24, 2015
• Document Release Date: December 16, 2011
• Case Number: F-2010-01025
• Publication Date: August 1, 1968

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2 Jtrne'~'~1967[
DESIGI~A'1'IORI ~ '.;
-menus '(Venera) 4, Sputnik.2~.2, IniEernations
ze87-058, ~SPADATS . 2~';9. ~ ; ~ , :, :; .::. ; `: ;;,,
>`TNG'~ (SITE
TvuratanriC
C1H[ VF.>IICLE
eo ^o
Overall 2,400. pounds, including capsule which
weighed, 844 pounds. . ?
>':::The .Soviets announced that the 2,438-pouii~d~
acecrafE.: had. scientific equipment on .: board . Yo'.
:;:; "carry', out' a wide program of acientifia . research'
?.'';;in;apace during the flight.."; and; Ito gather infortnit
.,,:,
;~:. tion..aliout..the., cloud-curtained planet's atmo here :'
~.., . .
~:; sand radiation." ' .
It]ESYJI,TS
~' The Venus 4 mission was an outstanding scieu=~
~'. ~: tifio seeress.: Relfable communications were mairi~
':``~:~.tained`c:during`..the 350-milliazi kilometer. vsiyaga,
~:~;'vrhicli,..ended ;on 18 October 1887, Data .,wer?
?:~` ` giithesed and relayed to earth throughout the Iong
fltght::and'vaIuable information on the atmosphere '
of :Venus .was .obtained during: the ;capsule?s slow ' S?i~T.~1EtESS COIEYQTS
,> descent. `Although .the Soviets originally claimed. ~.IS Ju~-e.-The soviet Udoa today launched a ssppace `
'' that thecapsule continued to' operat? until , it rocket with an automatic interplabetary atatlon wetghin~
.reached th? suxface of the planet,, !here sie ex-`:. ,' ~?~~ kilograms in the d[rection of Venus.'. The iaunchiag
eellent reasons to believe that this was not the case.,,..,.: tOOk Place at 0450 Mascow time. The last atego of th?
'~? The Soviets most like! antics ated far less res=.';?~. rockot was at. first brought'to an orbit of an arti9dal earth .
Y P . p setellito, and than was launched from'that orbit cad bright
sure than actuafly exists 'on the surface and there : ; :` into space Sight. The .flight of tho automatic statloa to .
aro:iitdlcations that tho capsule failed 8tructuralIy;'>+`;~ Vanua will last for moro than four months.
before ,roachtng the surfaco. The, reason for, 4he;:;;::: _ _ The automatic station Vanua 4 is moving along h
':original .Soviet landing claim was. probably du?,tio ::.> ~i~YO~' CJOSO eo the tntenaed one. tly i9os? Moscow time.
on lfl June. 1A87 the etatlon'was at a distance of II2,000
' misin
a . terpretatton of the radar altimetc~rr., data.;.., .: `;. kiIomotora .. over a point on .earth with the coordtnatar 70
?RBXT'T.l~. E%EN%'S
:'degrees' 18 mimeos eastom longitud? and 6 degreo. Q9
?
~
ParBeing OrbIB
RAVrlvx '
,~A~geO~. (nm) ..... ....
?'
...... 288.1 .', .:~
;`Perigee:: (r.:n) .: , ....
].09,11. ;'., ,:
:;;Inhlinatiori (deg) .:...., . , ~
.
,t 11 f ~ A
:J ~.
1 ~ t"
i ti ~ t
x rt 7r--sec
...:.. 52.UQ :_
?
r i'~
' minutes:: southern latltud?._.: All the equipment on boatel
th? automatic'station Veaua,`4 is.functiontng normally. ,
,. ~ Tho - sctenWo equipment on board : the. automatlo eta= ,:
tlon'Venua 4 will carryout. a wide Proggraa~~.of sciaatl$o re-..:.
Search. in'.apace. during. the flight, Telemetric, measuring,
uid .adentiflc-apparatus .will.,.be ewltched .on automatlcally.,.
to accordance.wlth the program'of the flight agd also oa
~cotnmaads by; the radio; from. the ground. :::: , ..: , :'.'` .
Y'
O
A
0
u ,m
 ~w '.18 junc-The` Soviet automatic station bas atarted'.on
lta:long:and dii&cult erfp.to Venus, the closest but :at ~tIie
assn's time. ono of .the:.most 'mysterious planets of the solar {
sYstcia? In,;`past ~ milleniuma,; aci@nce:_bav "learned orily ``a ,
o' about the:perpctually cloud-covered ?globe. -For iii'
ioo, only:.reoeat. radio :location: established. iha4 Veaus 5
cos a single mvoluttoa to 200 to 300.terreshtrial, days. "~ t
?.Tha current experlm@nt is the fourth Soviet'attempt to,
study the plan8e by meana.,of rockets. Yeaua 9 dt$'ers a
`from Sts prodecessori by a somewhat groater'weight. but irs s
ffigbE';will;:ooptinue`._for.:more.than four months.. Esterialvos.
''aciexitlfio :obs@rvatipiis :are. to be conducted `in outer~`apace '
,before.it" reaches:tts'.destinatlon.. The manor b that little ;
Ja.`yet known:about'the phyafcaI conditions.of 9tgfit,in the...,
expanses: of .the~unvesrse,.and herein Iiea oae.of the;dl!$-
cuIttea encqunterea:by scientists in dcatgnLog spaceships..;:
` ?Conditions in.the surrouading.area of :Venus are also
]!ilia.; known.':: Some: ineapllcable 'dtsruptlons in radio .irom-
nsunications duzing'appzoaches to the planet, were- observed x
~ . durliig proyioirs experImenta.: Aa in, previous stghb,;data..
of aeiit #ew,montha whtch.are_ important for the study bf the ~ , :'At 073~t hours Mascmv't3rue,. the Venus ! enter@d the
?.:problems of, super long-distance measurements. Ae ao. the :.. .
'.ponetratlon:into. the planet's secreb,.it will take more than atmosphere of Vemrs at the aeoond.ceanilo ~peed,.aad the
ono.launchli for,V~nts.to become familiar territ ecteat16c laboratory,; detached. itself. from t1ie. staUoa, and,
,, f ? g ?ry" started its : descent...'.Aftor ~ .nerodynemio .braking ~: of .. the ....
12 July--During` its monthlong 9tght the "Venera 4" , apparatus fn the atmosphere, the aatomatlc para~ute ay~.:.?
automatic:atatloa:has moved from the earth a dtatanee.of tern took over and:tta oonWru@d, gradual descent. in .the.:
about 8 niilliori kllomaters. Twenty radio contacts haws ' . atmospliero of Venus::
been' effected during thb period, A large amarnt of tole- ~ : Venua:l. covered thou! 350 mutton ktlomat@ra before .'
~'" aietrio data on the physics! proccxses !eking place.in.outet;:~ ? reachfng. the planet. :Ya the course of its fow?montb flight ';
'spac@. and,ori_ the,funetloning of the station s tnstrumeatatlon :: the~station,s@nt back.eiRonaive 3aformation about the.. phyd-
and systems. was received during those contacts. ~l ~ propcrtle, of :outer space: Ou. approai:bing .Veana, .the :.
:~~. According to tolemedio data, all onboard equipment ia. station,mordod',".the `absence. of ary aotfoeablo magnetto ,
.seta or iadiatioa b@lt:;arourid :b@, lan@t. ; A wcak h
working "normally; and the pressure. sad temperature tn:lao ~' corona wa: ;detected ~ T3e resiilhp of .the station's aci~cnti~flo ~ .
the atatton: are within the pi@acribed limit. ,Guidance. 'of obeaivatioat-are being prooeased and will ba made;pnbllo.::
. ,,. the:filght of: th@ station and the operattoa of all of its oa?::..:..: r:?,;~. ~. ~ .....:. . :.. ... .
~;' board'systema; and laatruments la accompIish@d by radio, ':;~:'
';`cdmmands from; the earth ,and autonomously by oa-boaid.;';,';
;:,`~pi~o'grarrsined.tlmtng devtcos. ."Venera 4," according to dal~.~`
from the special. `measurement complex, is moving along ~ ~:?
traJectory close to that calculated. , ,.
;113 July..'-AC 16o0:h?;rs Moscow; tim@ on 14 July 19eT, .
?'Venera . 4" 'was' at a dtataoce . of 8 rnillloa 34A thousand ::'
". kilometera_ from the earth and over 'a potat on .th@ @arth'a . '.
surface. with the .
coordinaoea=-12 degoea .191 minutes: S
latttud@ sail 21;,degrees 32 mIntites E: longitude ,
E ` Futuie.radio contacb with 'the station will:ba made in
,..;:
aocordanoe'.'with the :.fltght: program:":: A11 informatlon re:
ceived from the statloa is being processed sad seduced at_ .
ti th@ eoordinatton-computation: center... `.
y,'`t!~ 18 October--Th@: Soviet'automatic,:statiori;Venus 4,
d4whtch for the Srcttime softlanded'on the surface of Venaa:~
y today.-bas tigaamitted data on the planets atmosphere. :. .
,, .c `; Throvghwt thc`:;sectlon 'of measurementsof .the tom-'. .
perature: of th@ amosphere; it ranged .from '40 to 280 _ de- . '.
grcea peutlgrade 'and :.atmospherto pressure; from'. one to :.'
"9pproxiaiately ,I5' atmospheres. , The measurements .have: .
-shown > that the atmosphere. almost exclusively cor>sista of : -
carbon, dloxid@. ` Hydrogen aAd :vapors ;accatnt `for: shoat
lb,~ percent; and no.? riotlceable.'tracoa ' of rrttrogen.,wero
;decocted.
s {,' T'h@ inatruments;of the.Iandtng'apparntus; conducted `'.
continuous:-'stablo:uieaautementa and trarssmlaston to :the:
anrfh of the nnrnmaMre nF tl.w nh~nnenl.an. FM e.. 1...... ~ .