Vostok () 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 similarbut avoidedaccident revealed that the substitution of lead-based for tin-based solder in hydrogen peroxide filters allowed the breakdown of the H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>, thus causing the resultant explosion.
Variants
The major versions of the rocket were:
Vostok 8K72K
Source:
- First Stage â 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:
- 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-107-8D74-1959 per booster = 4
- Second Stage â 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 â 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
See also
Notes
References