63 years have passed since the first flyby of another planet

May 21. () –

Venera 1 was the first spacecraft launched to fly by Venus. The objective was completed on May 20, 1961, 63 years ago, but It failed in its purpose of sending data to Earth.

The probe manufactured by the Soviet Union consisted of a cylindrical body, crowned by a dome, 2.35 meters high and 1.50 meters in diameter. The fuel mass was 643.5 kg. Two solar panels, with a total area of ​​2 square meters, They extended radially from the cylinder.

A 2 meter diameter deployable high gain antenna was designed for communications with an 8 centimeter and 32 centimeter wavelength transmitter, Wikipedia reports.

The probe was equipped with scientific instruments, including a magnetometer at the end of a 2-meter arm, ion traps, micrometeorite detectors, and cosmic radiation counters.

The dome housed a fuel sphere containing a pennant of the Soviet Union and It was designed to float in the Venusian ocean after the planned impact. Altitude control was achieved by using the sun as a reference, star sensors, gyroscopes, and nitrogen gas engines.

Seven days after launch, about two million kilometers from Earth, contact with the spacecraft was lost. It passed between May 19 and 20, 1961, 100,000 kilometers from Venus, subsequently entering heliocentric orbit.