![]() Artist's impression of Pioneer 12 in orbit above Venus | |
Names | Pioneer Venus 1 Pioneer 12 |
---|---|
Mission type | Venus orbiter |
Operator | NASA / Ames |
COSPAR ID | 1978-051A |
SATCAT no. | 10911 |
Website | science.nasa.gov |
Mission duration | 14 years, 4 months, 18 days (from launch) 13 years, 10 months, 4 days (at Venus) |
Spacecraft properties | |
Bus | HS-507 |
Manufacturer | Hughes |
Launch mass | 582 kg (1,283 lb) [1] |
Dry mass | 517 kg (1,140 lb) |
Dimensions | 2.5 × 1.2 m (8.2 × 3.9 ft) |
Power | 312 watts |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | May 20, 1978, 13:13:00[1] | UTC
Rocket | Atlas SLV-3D Centaur-D1AR |
Launch site | Cape Canaveral LC-36A |
End of mission | |
Disposal | Decommissioned |
Last contact | October 8, 1992, 19:22 | UTC
Decay date | October 22, 1992[2] |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Cytherocentric |
Semi-major axis | 33,405.8 kilometres (20,757.4 mi) |
Eccentricity | 0.842 |
Pericytherion altitude | 181.6 kilometers (112.8 mi) |
Apocytherion altitude | 66,630 kilometers (41,400 mi) |
Inclination | 105 degrees |
Period | 24 hours |
Epoch | 22 November 1979, 11:53:20 UTC[3] |
Venus orbiter | |
Orbital insertion | December 4, 1978 |
The Pioneer Venus Orbiter, also known as Pioneer Venus 1 or Pioneer 12, was a mission to Venus conducted by NASA as part of the Pioneer Venus project. Launched in May 1978 atop an Atlas-Centaur rocket, the spacecraft was inserted into an elliptical orbit around Venus on December 4, 1978. It returned data from Venus until October 1992.[2][4]
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