Vostok (Russian: Восток, translated as "East") was a family of rockets derived from the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

ICBM An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...

and was designed for the

human spaceflight Human spaceflight (also referred to as manned spaceflight or crewed spaceflight) is spaceflight with a crew or passengers aboard a spacecraft, often with the spacecraft being operated directly by the onboard human crew. Spacecraft can also be ...

programme. This family of rockets launched the first artificial satellite (

Sputnik 1 Sputnik 1 (; see § Etymology) was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program. It sent a radio signal back to Earth for t ...

) and the first crewed spacecraft (

Vostok Vostok refers to east in Russian but may also refer to: Spaceflight * Vostok programme, Soviet human spaceflight project * Vostok (spacecraft), a type of spacecraft built by the Soviet Union * Vostok (rocket family), family of rockets derived from ...

) 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 Plesetsk (russian: Плесе́цк) is an urban locality (a work settlement) and the administrative center of Plesetsky District, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, situated about northeast of Moscow and south of Arkhangelsk. Municipally, it is ...

during a fueling operation, killing 48 people. An investigation into a similarbut avoidedaccident revealed that the substitution of lead-based for tin-based solder in

hydrogen peroxide Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound with the formula . In its pure form, it is a very pale blue liquid that is slightly more viscous than water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usually as a dilute solution (3%� ...

filters allowed the breakdown of the H₂O₂, thus causing the resultant explosion.

Variants

The major versions of the rocket were: *

Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin * Luna (goddess), the ancient Roman personification of the Moon Luna may also refer to: Places Philippines * Luna, Apayao * Luna, Isabela * Luna, La Union * Luna, San Jose Roma ...

8K72 – used to launch the early

spacecraft *

Vostok-L The Vostok-L (russian: Восток meaning ''"East"''), GRAU index 8K72 was a rocket used by the Soviet Union to conduct several early tests of the Vostok spacecraft. It was derived from the Luna rocket, with a slightly enlarged second stage to a ...

8K72 – Variant of the Luna, used to launch prototype

Vostok spacecraft Vostok (russian: Восток, translated as "East") was a class of single-pilot crewed spacecraft built by the Soviet Union. The first human spaceflight was accomplished with Vostok 1 on April 12, 1961, by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. The ...

Vostok-K The Vostok-K (russian: Восток meaning ''"East"''), GRAU index 8K72K was an expendable carrier rocket used by the Soviet Union for thirteen launches between 1960 and 1964, six of which were manned. It was derived from the earlier Vostok-L ...

8K72K – a refined version of the above. This was the version actually used for human spaceflight * Vostok-2 8A92 – used for launching

Zenit Zenit, meaning "zenith", may refer to: Spaceflight and rocketry * Zenit (rocket family), a Soviet family of space launch vehicles * Zenit (satellite), a type of Soviet spy satellite * Zenit sounding rocket, a Swiss rocket Sports * Zenit (sports ...

reconnaissance satellite A reconnaissance satellite or intelligence satellite (commonly, although unofficially, referred to as a spy satellite) is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications. The ...

s throughout the 1960s *

Vostok-2M The Vostok-2M (russian: Восток meaning ''"East"''), GRAU index 8A92M was an expendable carrier rocket used by the Soviet Union between 1964 and 1991. Ninety-three were launched, of which one failed. Another was destroyed before launch. It ...

8A92M – modified version for launching

Meteor A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as micr ...

weather satellite A weather satellite or meteorological satellite is a type of Earth observation satellite that is primarily used to monitor the weather and climate of the Earth. Satellites can be polar orbiting (covering the entire Earth asynchronously), or ge ...

s into higher orbits. * Soyuz/Vostok 11A110 – hybrid of

Soyuz Soyuz is a transliteration of the Cyrillic text Союз ( Russian and Ukrainian, 'Union'). It can refer to any union, such as a trade union (''profsoyuz'') or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Сою́з Сове́тских Социалис ...

and Vostok rockets used as an interim for two launches

Vostok 8K72K

*First Stage — Block B, V, G, D (four strap-on boosters) **Gross mass: 43,300 kg **Empty mass: 3,710 kg **Thrust (vac): 4 x 99,000

kgf KGF or ''kgf'' may refer to: *Keratinocyte growth factor *King George's Fields, UK, recreation grounds *Kolar Gold Fields *The IATA code for Sary-Arka Airport, Karaganda, Kazakhstan * ''K.G.F'' (film series), Indian Kannada-language film series * ...

(971 kN) = 3.88 MN **

Isp An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...

: **Burn time: 118 s **Isp(sl): **Diameter: 2.68 m **Span: 8.35 m **Length: 19.00 m **Propellants: Lox/Kerosene **Engines: 1 x

RD-107 The RD-107 and its sibling, the RD-108, are a type of rocket engine initially used to launch R-7 Semyorka missiles. RD-107 engines were later used on space launch vehicles based on the R-7. , very similar RD-107A and RD-108A engines are used to la ...

-8D74-1959 per booster = 4 *Second Stage — Block A (core stage) **Gross mass: 100,400 kg **Empty mass: 6,800 kg **Thrust (vac): 912 kN **Isp: **Burn time: 301 s **Isp(sl): **Diameter: 2.99 m **Length: 28.00 m **Propellants: Lox/Kerosene **Engine: 1 x RD-108-8D75-1959 *Third Stage — Block E **Gross mass: 7,775 kg **Empty mass: 1,440 kg **Thrust (vac): 54.5 kN **Isp: **Burn time: 365 s **Diameter: 2.56 m **Span: 2.56 m **Length: 2.84 m **Propellants: Lox/Kerosene **Engine: 1 x RD-0109

Gallery

Image:Vostok rocket drawing.png, Vostok rocket Image:The Soviet Union 1969 CPA 3732 stamp (Vostok on Launching Pad).jpg, Vostok rocket

Variants

Vostok 8K72K

Gallery

See also