Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Vostok-L
1960s Soviet rocket From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
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.
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2009) |
It was derived from the Luna rocket, with a slightly enlarged second stage to accommodate the larger payload.[2] and was a member of the Vostok family of rockets.
Remove ads
Launches
Four launches were conducted between 15 May and 1 December 1960 from Baikonur LC-1/5, three of which successfully reached orbit.[3]
The first flight, on 15 May 1960, carried the Korabl-Sputnik 1 spacecraft. The second launched on 28 July, however one of the booster engines exploded during launch, causing the booster to separate prematurely, 19 seconds after launch. The rocket broke up 30 seconds after liftoff, killing the two dogs that were aboard the spacecraft.[2] The third flight successfully placed Korabl-Sputnik 2 into orbit on 19 August, whilst the fourth and final flight orbited Korabl-Sputnik 3 on 1 December.
The Vostok-L was replaced by an uprated version, the Vostok-K, which offered a greater payload capacity.
Remove ads
References
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads