Venera 2MV-1 No.2
| Mission type | Venus lander |
|---|---|
| Operator | OKB-1 |
| Harvard designation | 1962 Alpha Tau 1 |
| COSPAR ID | 1962-043A |
| SATCAT no. | 381 |
| Mission duration | Launch failure |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | 2MV-1 |
| Manufacturer | OKB-1 |
| Launch mass | 6,500 kg (14,300 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 1 September 1962, 02:12:30 UTC |
| Rocket | Molniya 8K78 s/n T103-13 |
| Launch site | Baikonur 1/5 |
| End of mission | |
| Decay date | 6 September 1962 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth (achieved) Heliocentric (intended) |
| Eccentricity | 0.00981 |
| Perigee altitude | 180 kilometres (110 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 310 kilometres (190 mi) |
| Inclination | 64.9 degrees |
| Period | 89.4 minutes |
| Epoch | 1 September 1962 |
Venera 2MV-1 No.2, also known as Sputnik 20 in the Western world, was a Soviet spacecraft, which was launched in 1962 as part of the Venera programme. Due to a problem with its upper stage it failed to leave low Earth orbit, and reentered the atmosphere a few days later. It was the second of two Venera 2MV-1 spacecraft, both of which failed to leave Earth orbit. The previous mission, Venera 2MV-1 No.1, was launched several days earlier.