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	Soviet Union
Size
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)
Notable payloads	Vostok; Zenit; Meteor
First stage (Block B, V, G, D)
Engines	1 RD-107-8D74-1959
Thrust	970.86 kN
Burn time	118 seconds
Fuel	Kerosene/LOX
Second stage (Block A)
Engines	1 RD-108-8D75-1959
Thrust	912 kN
Burn time	301 seconds
Fuel	Kerosene/LOX
Third stage (Block E)
Engines	1 RD-0109
Thrust	54.5 kN
Burn time	365 seconds
Fuel	Kerosene/LOX

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
Vostok-L 8K72 – Variant of the Luna, used to launch prototype Vostok spacecraft
Vostok-K 8K72K – a refined version of the above. This was the version actually used for human spaceflight
Vostok-2 8A92 – used for launching Zenit reconnaissance satellites throughout the 1960s
Vostok-2M 8A92M – modified version for launching Meteor weather satellites into higher orbits.
Soyuz/Vostok 11A110 – hybrid of Soyuz 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 (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

Soviet, and Russian launch vehicles
Active	Angara A5 Soyuz-2 2.1a 2.1b 2-1v UR Proton-M Zenit 3SL 3SLB 3F
In development	Amur Angara 1.2 Cyclone-4M Irtysh Soyuz-7
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
Cancelled (no launch attempts)	Tsyklon-4 Proton Light Medium

Orbital launch systems
List of orbital launch systems Comparison of orbital launch systems
Current	Angara A5 Antares 230+ Ariane 5 Atlas V Ceres-1 Delta IV Heavy Electron Epsilon Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy GSLV Mk II Mk III H-IIA Hyperbola-1 Jielong 1 Kuaizhou 1 1A 11^† Kaituozhe 2 LauncherOne Long March 2C 2D 2F 3A 3B/E 3C 4B 4C 5 5B 6 7 7A^† 8 11 Minotaur I IV V C OS-M1^† Pegasus XL Proton-M PSLV Qased Rocket 3^† Safir Shavit Simorgh^† Soyuz-2 2.1a / STA 2.1b / STB 2-1v Unha Vega Zenit 3SL 3SLB 3F Zhuque-1^†
In development	Amur Angara 1.2 Ariane 6 Bloostar Cyclone-4M Eris Firefly Alpha Beta H3 Hyperbola-2 Irtysh Kuaizhou 21 31 Long March 921 rocket 9 Miura 5 New Glenn New Line 1 Nuri OS-M2 OS-M4 Orbex Prime SLS Soyuz-7 SSLV Starship Terran 1 Vega C Vega E Vulcan Zero Zhuque-2
Retired	Antares 110 120 130^† 230 Ariane 1 2 3 4 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 Diamant Dnepr Energia Europa^† 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 1 2I 3 3M Lambda 4S 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^† Saturn I IB V Scout SLV Space Shuttle SPARK^† Sparta SS-520 Start-1 Thor Able Ablestar Agena Burner Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Tsyklon original 2 3 Universal Rocket UR-500 Proton Proton-K Rokot Strela Vanguard VLS-1^† Zenit 2 2M
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 historical or current rockets that attempted orbital launches but did not ever succeed (never did or has performed a successful orbital launch)

Vostok (rocket family)

Variants

Vostok 8K72K

Gallery

See also