Vostok (rocket family)

Series of six manned and unmanned Soviet orbiting spacecraft

Vostok
Size
Vostok 8K72K rocket on display in Moscow at the Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy
Function	Carrier rocket
Manufacturer	RKK Energia
Country of origin	Soviet Union
Mass	280,000–290,000 kg (620,000–640,000 lb)
Stages	3
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass	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
Success(es)	Vostok-L: 3 Vostok-K: 11 Vostok-2: 40 Vostok-2M: 92 Soyuz/Vostok: 2
Failure(s)	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)
Type of passengers/cargo	Vostok Zenit Meteor

First stage (Block B, V, G, D)
Powered by	1 RD-107-8D74-1959
Maximum thrust	970.86 kN
Burn time	118 seconds
Propellant	Kerosene/LOX
Second stage (Block A)
Powered by	1 RD-108-8D75-1959
Maximum thrust	912 kN
Burn time	301 seconds
Propellant	RP-1/LOX
Third stage (Block E)
Powered by	1 RD-0109
Maximum thrust	54.5 kN
Burn time	365 seconds
Propellant	Kerosene/LOX

[edit on Wikidata]

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

Luna 8K72 – used to launch the early Luna spacecraft^[1]
Vostok-L 8K72 – Variant of the Luna, used to launch prototype Vostok spacecraft^[1]
Vostok-K 8K72K – a refined version of the above. This was the version actually used for human spaceflight^[2]
Vostok-2 8A92 – used for launching Zenit reconnaissance satellites throughout the 1960s^[3]
Vostok-2M 8A92M – modified version for launching Meteor weather satellites into higher orbits.^[4]
Soyuz/Vostok 11A110 – hybrid of Soyuz and Vostok rockets used as an interim for two launches^[5]

Vostok 8K72K^[2]^[1]

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 (971 kN) = 3.88 MN
- Isp: 313 seconds (3.07 km/s)
- Burn time: 118 s
- Isp(sl): 256 seconds (2.51 km/s)
- Diameter: 2.68 m
- Span: 8.35 m
- Length: 19.00 m
- Propellants: Lox/Kerosene
- Engines: 1 x RD-107-8D74-1959 per booster = 4
Second Stage — Block A (core stage)
- Gross mass: 100,400 kg
- Empty mass: 6,800 kg
- Thrust (vac): 912 kN
- Isp: 315 seconds (3.09 km/s)
- Burn time: 301 s
- Isp(sl): 248 seconds (2.43 km/s)
- 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: 326 seconds (3.20 km/s)
- 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

Vostok rocket
Vostok rocket

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Vostok-L 8K72". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
^ ^a ^b "Vostok 8K72K". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
^ "Vostok 8A92". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
^ "Vostok 8A92M". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
^ "Soyuz 11A510". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2023-07-30.

Soviet and Russian launch vehicles

Active

In development

Amur
Irtysh
Yenisei

Retired

Dnepr
Energia
Kosmos
- 1
- 2I
- 3
- 3M
N1
R-7
- Luna
- Molniya
  - M
  - L
- Polyot
- Soyuz
  - original
  - L
  - M
  - U
  - U2
  - FG
- Soyuz/Vostok
- Sputnik
- Voskhod
- Vostok
  - L
  - K
  - 2
  - 2M
R-29
- Shtil'
- Volna
Start-1
Tsyklon
- original
- 2
- 3
UR
- UR-500
- Proton-K
- Rokot
- Strela
Zenit
- 2
- 2M
- 3SL
- 3SLB
- 3F

Cancelled (no launch attempts)

Tsyklon-4
Proton
- Light
- Medium

v t e Orbital launch systems
List of orbital launch systems Comparison of orbital launch systems
Current	Angara 1.2 A5 Atlas V Ceres 1 1S Chollima-1 Electron Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy Firefly Alpha Gravity-1 GSLV H-IIA H3 Hyperbola-1 Jielong 1 3 KAIROS^† Kaituozhe 2 Kinetica 1 Kuaizhou 1 1A 11 Long March 2C 2D 2F 3A 3B/E 3C 4B 4C 5 5B 6 6A 7 7A 8 11 11H LVM3 Minotaur I IV V C Nuri OS-M1^† Pegasus XL Proton-M PSLV Qaem 100 Qased RS1^† Shavit 2 Simorgh SLS Block 1 Soyuz-2 2.1a / STA 2.1b / STB 2-1v SSLV Starship Tianlong-2 Unha Vega original C Vulcan Centaur Zhuque 2
In development	Antares 330 Ariane 6 Bloostar Cyclone-4M Epsilon S Eris Gravity-2 Hyperbola-2 Irtysh Kuaizhou 21 31 Long March 9 10 12 Miura 5 MLV Neutron New Glenn New Line 1 NGLV Nova OS-M 2 4 Orbex Prime Pallas-1 Red Dwarf SLS Block 1B Block 2 Soyuz-7 Terran R Tianlong-3 VLM Vega E Zero Zhuque 3 Zuljanah
Retired	Antares 110 120 130^† 230 230+ Ariane 1 2 3 4 5 ASLV Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 Able^† Agena Centaur Black Arrow Conestoga^† Delta A B C D E G J L M N 0100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 II III IV IV Heavy Diamant Dnepr Energia Epsilon Europa I^† II^† Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" Feng Bao 1 GSLV Mk I H-I H-II H-IIB Juno I Juno II Kaituozhe-1 Kosmos original 1 2/2I 3 3M Lambda 4S LauncherOne Long March 1 1D^† 2A 2E 3 3B 4A Mu 4S 3C 3H 3S 3SII V N1^† N-I N-II Naro-1 Paektusan^† Pilot-2^† R-7 Luna Molniya M L Polyot Soyuz original FG L M U U2 Soyuz/Vostok Sputnik Voskhod Vostok L K 2 2M R-29 Shtil' Volna^† Rocket 3 Safir 1 1A 1B Saturn I IB V Scout X-1 Blue Scout II^† X-2^† X-2M X-3 X-3M X-4 X-2B^† B A B-1 D-1 A-1 E-1 F-1 G-1 Shavit original 1 SLV Space Shuttle SPARK^† Sparta SS-520 Start-1 Terran 1^† Thor Able Ablestar 1 2 Agena A B D Burner 1 2 Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena SLV-2G SLV-2H Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Tsyklon R-36-O original 2 3 Universal Rocket UR-500 Proton Proton-K Rokot Strela Vanguard VLS-1^† Zenit 2 2M 2FG 3SL 3SLB 3F Zhuque 1^†
Classes	Sounding rocket Small-lift launch vehicle Medium-lift launch vehicle Heavy-lift launch vehicle Super heavy-lift launch vehicle
This Template lists historical, current, and future space rockets that at least once attempted (but not necessarily succeeded in) an orbital launch or that are planned to attempt such a launch in the future Symbol ^† indicates past or current rockets that attempted orbital launches but never succeeded (never did or has yet to perform a successful orbital launch)

R-7 rockets

Main articles

R-7 family
R-7 Semyorka

Rockets

Missiles

Launch systems

Sputnik Polyot Voskhod
Vostok	Luna Vostok-L Vostok-K Vostok-2 Vostok-2M
Molniya	Molniya Molniya-M
Soyuz	Soyuz/Vostok Soyuz Soyuz-L Soyuz-M Soyuz-U Soyuz-U2 Soyuz-FG
Soyuz-2	Soyuz 2.1a / STA Soyuz 2.1b / STB Soyuz 2-1v