Editing Venera 1 (section)

==Launch==
[[File:The Soviet Union 1961 CPA 2557A stamp (Launching of the Venus space probe, 1961-2-12. Space probe and its path to Venus).jpg|thumb|Route of Venera 1 on a Soviet stamp]]
''Venera 1'' was the second of two attempts to launch a probe to Venus in February 1961, immediately following the launch of its sister ship [[Tyazhely Sputnik|''Venera-1VA No.1'']],<ref name= "Chronology">NSSDC [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/chronology_venus.html Chronology of Venus Exploration] (NASA Goddard Space Center), accessed August 9, 2010</ref> which failed to leave Earth orbit due to the failure of a power transformer. The transformer was wrapped in foil and painted black and white for thermal reasons.<ref>https://habr.com/ru/articles/555132/</ref><ref name="Soviet Failures">NSSDC [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/tent_launch.html Tentatively Identified (Soviet) Missions and Launch Failures] (NASA Goddard Space Center), accessed August 9, 2010</ref> Soviet experts launched Venera-1 using a [[Molniya (rocket)|Molniya]] carrier rocket from the [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]]. The launch took place at 00:34:36 GMT on 12 February 1961. Vehicle L1-6V steered downrange into a clear blue winter sky and orbit was successfully achieved.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://planet4589.org/space/log/launchlog.txt|title=Launch Log|first=Jonathan|last=McDowell|access-date=3 January 2013|work=Jonathan's Space Page}}</ref>

The spacecraft, along with the rocket's [[Blok-L]] upper stage, was initially placed into a {{convert|229|×|282|km|adj=on}} [[low Earth orbit]],<ref name=":0"/> before the upper stage fired to place "Venera 1" into a [[heliocentric orbit]], directed towards Venus. The 11D33 engine was the world's first staged-combustion-cycle rocket engine, and also the first use of an [[ullage engine]] to allow a liquid-fuel rocket engine to start in space.