Venera 8 Credit - NASA Media Gallery

Venus atmospheric probe; instrumentation included temperature, pressure, and light sensors as well as radio transmitters. Velocity at Venus was reduced from 41,696 km/hr to about 900 km/hr by aerobraking. The 2.5 meter diameter parachute opened at an altitude of 60 km, and a refrigeration system was used to cool the interior components. Transmitted data during the descent and continued to send back data after landing.

Typical orbit: 204 km x 9806 km at 52 degrees inclination. Mass: 1,180 kg (2,600 lb). Associated Launch Vehicle: Molniya 8K78M.

• 1972 March 27 - Venera 8 - Program: Venera. Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Vehicle: Molniya 8K78M. Mass: 1,180 kg (2,600 lb). Perigee: 194 km (120 mi). Apogee: 246 km (152 mi). Inclination: 51.70 deg. Period: 88.90 min.

  Venus atmospheric probe. The spacecraft took 117 days to reach Venus, entering the atmosphere on 22 July 1972. Descent speed was reduced from 41,696 km/hr to about 900 km/hr by aerobraking. The 2.5 meter diameter parachute opened at an altitude of 60 km, and a refrigeration system was used to cool the interior components. Venera 8 transmitted data during the descent and continued to send back data for 50 minutes after landing. The probe confirmed the earlier data on the high Venus surface temperature and pressure returned by Venera 7, and also measured the light level as being suitable for surface photography, finding it to be similar to the amount of light on Earth on an overcast day.

• 1972 March 31 - Cosmos 482 - Program: Venera. Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Vehicle: Molniya 8K78M. FAILURE: The escape stage Block L's engine cut off 125 seconds after ignition due to timer failure. Mass: 1,180 kg (2,600 lb). Perigee: 204 km (126 mi). Apogee: 9,806 km (6,093 mi). Inclination: 52.00 deg. Period: 201.40 min.

• JPL Mission and Spacecraft Library, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1997. Accessed at: http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/home.html.

• National Space Science Center Planetary Page, As of 19 February 1999.. Accessed at: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planetary_home.html.

• Varfolomyev, Timothy, Spaceflight, "Soviet Rocketry that Conquered Space - Part 5", 1998, Volume 40, page 85. 1: Sp 95/37-260; Sp 96/38-31 (8K71 launches); 2: Sp 96/38-48; 3: Sp 96/38-206; Sp 96/38-317 (designatons); 4: Sp 98/40-28; 5:Sp 98/40-85

• Krebs, Gunter, Gunter's Space Page, University of Frankfurt, 1996. Accessed at: http://www.skyrocket.de/space.

• McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page, Harvard University, 1997-present. Jonathan McDowell's complete on-line listing of all objects orbited and over 20,000 rocket launches Accessed at: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.

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• Novosti Kosmonavtiki, "Otmenenniy Start "Molniya-M"", 1997, Issue 1, page 29.