# Venera 2MV-2 No.1

> failed Soviet Venus flyby spacecraft

**Wikidata**: [Q1578461](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1578461)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venera_2MV-2_No.1)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/venera-2mv-2-no-1

## Summary
Venera 2MV-2 No.1 was a failed Soviet spacecraft intended for a flyby mission to Venus. Launched on September 12, 1962, it was part of the 2MV class of early uncrewed probes but failed to escape Earth orbit, reentering the atmosphere and decaying on September 14, 1962. It is also known by the aliases Sputnik 21 and the Harvard designation 1962 Alpha Pi 1.

## Key Facts
- **Mission Type:** Failed Soviet Venus flyby spacecraft.
- **Launch Date:** September 12, 1962.
- **Launch Site:** Gagarin's Start.
- **Launch Vehicle:** Molniya rocket.
- **Spacecraft Class:** 2MV (a common design for early Soviet uncrewed probes to Mars and Venus).
- ** Decay Date:** September 14, 1962 (failed to leave Earth orbit).
- **COSPAR ID:** 1962-045A.
- **Alternate Names:** Sputnik 21, Спутник-21, 史潑尼克21號, 1962 Alpha Pi 1.
- **Orbital Parameters:** Apoapsis 195 km, Periapsis 163 km, Orbital Period 88.07 minutes.

## FAQs
### Q: What was the mission goal of Venera 2MV-2 No.1?
A: The spacecraft was designed as a Venus flyby probe intended to gather data from the planet. However, due to a mission failure, it never departed Earth's orbit to reach its destination.

### Q: Why is Venera 2MV-2 No.1 sometimes called Sputnik 21?
A: In the Soviet space program, spacecraft that failed to leave Earth's orbit were often not announced with their planetary mission names (like Venera) and were instead designated as "Sputnik" satellites followed by a number.

### Q: How long did Venera 2MV-2 No.1 remain in orbit?
A: The spacecraft had a very short orbital life, launching on September 12, 1962, and decaying on September 14, 1962, remaining in space for approximately two days.

## Why It Matters
Venera 2MV-2 No.1 serves as a historical marker of the intense challenges faced during the early "Space Race" of the 1960s. As a component of the Soviet Union's ambitious 2MV program—which aimed to utilize a common design for both Mars and Venus probes—it exemplifies the engineering strategy of standardization during that era. Although the mission failed to achieve its interplanetary objective, its launch aboard a Molniya rocket from the prestigious Gagarin's Start site highlights the high priority placed on Venus exploration following early successes in Earth orbit.

The spacecraft's rapid decay—just two days after launch—underscores the high failure rate of early planetary attempts and the technical difficulties in achieving escape velocity. Designated by Harvard as 1962 Alpha Pi 1 and tracked under COSPAR ID 1962-045A, it remains a documented case study in the history of astrodynamics and space tracking. While it did not return scientific data from Venus, its development contributed to the iterative design processes that would eventually lead to successful planetary encounters later in the decade.

## Notable For
- Being an early Soviet attempt to perform a flyby of Venus.
- Its extremely short lifespan in orbit (approx. 2 days) before decaying.
- Being an instance of the 2MV spacecraft class, a foundational design for Soviet deep space exploration.
- Its alternative designation "Sputnik 21," reflecting the Soviet convention for renaming failed planetary probes.
- Launching from Gagarin's Start, the same site used for the first human spaceflight.

## Body

### Mission Profile and Launch
Venera 2MV-2 No.1 was launched on September 12, 1962, utilizing a Molniya rocket. The launch originated from Gagarin's Start, a site historically significant for crewed and uncrewed missions alike. The intended trajectory was a flyby of Venus, categorizing the vehicle as an interplanetary probe.

### Orbital Failure
Despite the successful lift-off, the spacecraft failed to achieve the necessary trajectory to leave Earth's gravity. Instead, it entered a low Earth orbit with an inclination of 64.8 degrees. The orbital parameters were recorded as having an apoapsis of 195 kilometers and a periapsis of 163 kilometers. The craft completed roughly one orbit every 88.07 minutes.

### End of Mission
The mission concluded rapidly when the spacecraft underwent orbital decay on September 14, 1962. The vehicle disintegrated or crashed back to Earth, resulting in a total loss of the mission objectives.

### Technical Specifications
- **Designation:** The spacecraft belonged to the **2MV class**, a dual-purpose design used for targeting both Mars and Venus.
- **Identifiers:**
  - **SCN:** 00389
  - **COSPAR ID:** 1962-045A
  - **Harvard Designation:** 1962 Alpha Pi 1
  - **Freebase ID:** /m/08wdyw
- **Orbital Eccentricity:** 0.02977

## References

1. Jonathan's Space Report
2. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
3. [Source](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1962-045A)