Vostok (rocket family)

Vostok

Vostok 8K72K rocket on display in Moscow at the All Russia Exhibition Centre
Function Carrier rocket
Manufacturer RKK Energia
Country of origin USSR
Size
Stages 2
Capacity
Payload to LEO 4,725 kilograms (10,417 lb)
Associated rockets
Family R-7
Comparable Atlas
Titan
Launch history
Status Retired
Launch sites Baikonur: LC-1/5, 31/6
Plesetsk: LC-41/1, 43/3, 43/4
Total launches Vostok-L: 4
Vostok-K: 13
Vostok-2: 45
Vostok-2M: 94
Soyuz/Vostok: 2
Successes Vostok-L: 3
Vostok-K: 11
Vostok-2: 40
Vostok-2M: 92
Soyuz/Vostok: 2
Failures Vostok-L: 1
Vostok-K: 2
Vostok-2: 5
Vostok-2M: 2
First flight 15 May 1960 (Vostok-L)
Last flight 29 August 1991 (Vostok-2M)
Notable payloads Vostok
Zenit
Meteor
Boosters (Vostok-K)
No. boosters 4
Engines 1 RD-107-8D74-1959
Thrust 970.86 kN
Total thrust 3,883.4 kN
Burn time 118 seconds
Fuel RP-1/LOX
First stage (Vostok-K)
Engines 1 RD-108-8D75-1959
Thrust 912 kN
Burn time 301 seconds
Fuel RP-1/LOX
Second stage (Vostok-K)
Engines 1 RD-0109
Thrust 54.5 kN
Burn time 365 seconds
Fuel RP-1/LOX

Vostok (Russian Восток, translated as "East") was a family of rockets derived from the Soviet R-7 Semyorka ICBM designed for the human spaceflight programme. This family of rockets launched the first artificial satellite (Sputnik 1) and the first manned spacecraft (Vostok) in human history. It was a subset of the R-7 family of rockets.

On March 18, 1980 a Vostok-2M rocket exploded on its launch pad at Plesetsk during a fueling operation, killing 48 people. An investigation into a similar  but avoided  accident revealed that the substitution of lead-based for tin-based solder in hydrogen peroxide filters allowed the breakdown of the H2O2, thus causing the resultant explosion.

Variants

The major versions of the rocket were:

Vostok 8K72K

See also

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