Word: venusnik
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...Soviets have cloaked their feat with some mystery, are doling out the facts of the flight in dribbles to whet world curiosity. Last week Pravda published the latest installment of details and the first photo of "Venusnik.'' Biggest news: the satellite will probe deeply into the gravitational field of Venus-will pass within 62,000 miles of the cloud-shrouded planet on May 19 or May 20-then flash back data to earth and continue onward in an elliptical orbit around...
Pravda's picture shows Venusnik as shaped like a snub-nosed howitzer shell, 80 in. long and 41 in. in diameter. Protruding from its body is an assembly of aerials that resembles a windmill, and a pair of wings that house scientific gear and solar batteries. Included in Venusnik's gear are an automatic thermostat to regulate temperature and orienting equipment that 1) prevents the vehicle from tumbling, 2) points its solar batteries constantly toward the sun. and 3) keeps its main aerial facing the earth...
Pravda also shed some light on how Venusnik was separated from the booster that lifted it piggyback into space. At a predetermined point on orbit around the earth, when the satellite reached a great speed, the booster was separated-whether automatically or by radio signal from earth, the Soviets did not say. The booster stayed on orbit, while Venusnik hurtled on alone. As it broke away from the earth's gravitation, it moved into a solar orbit at 61,000 m.p.h...
...point, "an accurately aimed parabolic antenna, for super-long-range communication, will open." To catch the distant signals, the Soviets have set up a special tracking and control center inside Russia, have also installed ' smaller telemetering stations on Soviet ships at sea. But there is some doubt that Venusnik will get through to earth. Last week the Soviets tried to reach it by radio and failed, said further attempts will be made "on subsequent days...
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