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Planetary News: Venus Express (2005)

Venus Express Launch Successful

By Emily Lakdawalla
November 9, 2005
Venus Express Launch
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Venus Express launched successfully on November 9, 2005, at 03:33:34 UTC. Credit: ESA / Starsem

Europe is on its way to Venus!  The European Space Agency's Venus Express lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 03:33:34 on November 9, UTC (19:33:34 November 8, PST), beginning a five-month journey to Earth's sister planet.

The Soyuz-Fregat launch proceeded exactly on schedule.  The first, second, and third stages of the Soyuz launch vehicle fired and separated by 11 minutes into the rocket's flight.  A 20-second burn of the Fregat upper stage placed Venus Express into a circular parking orbit.  About an hour later, after half an orbit around Earth, a long burn of the Fregat upper stage delivered Venus Express to its interplanetary trajectory.

Confirmation of the shutdown of the Fregat upper stage was received at the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany at 05:13 UTC (21:13, PST).  Shortly afterward, Venus Express, still operating on an automatic program, sent a signal to Earth through its low-gain antenna.  The signal was picked up at ESA's 35-meter tracking station in New Norcia, Western Australia.  The signal confirmed the health of the spacecraft, and also that it had correctly oriented itself to the Sun and deployed its solar arrays.

At 06:09:29, the New Norcia station up-linked the first commands to the spacecraft.  ESA has confirmed that all systems are working nominally, with one star tracker and the reaction wheels switched on.  As of 10:00 the spacecraft achieved full 3-axis stabilization, and was under "full control through ground operations."

New Norcia was ESA's first deep space antenna, built in 2002.  Recently, on September 15, 2005, ESA has brought online a second, 35-meter antenna at Cerbreos, Spain.  Venus Express will be the third spacecraft, after Mars Express and Rosetta, for which ESA must support deep space communications.

The trip to Venus still requires a small trajectory correction maneuver.  A test maneuver will be performed 27 hours after launch to make sure that the spacecraft engines are performing properly, and then the full maneuver will be performed at 51 hours following launch.  From that point, Venus Express will be on course for a Venus arrival on April 11, 2006.  After this trajectory correction maneuver has been performed, Venus Express will establish communication with Earth through its high-gain antenna.

To complete its journey and enter orbit around Venus, Venus Express will have to perform a much larger maneuver, burning its main engine for 53 minutes.

Want to experience the beginning of the first mission to Venus in 15 years?  Enter The Planetary Society's Venus Express Art Contest for a chance to win a trip to the European Space Operations Centre to witness live the arrival of Venus Express!