On August 27, 1962, an Atlas-Agena B booster launched the Mariner 2 spacecraft on the first successful interplanetary mission in history. 110 days later, Mariner 2 passed within 21,000 miles of Venus, sending back a wealth of scientific data from seven different instruments. Mariner was propelled to Venus by a Bell Aerospace Agena rocket engine built right here in Western New York. Come see an actual Agena engine in person at the Niagara Aerospace Museum.
