8K72K (Vostok) rocket

The 8K72K rocket, (later known as Vostok) derived from a three-stage launch vehicle which carried the first Soviet unmanned probes to the Moon. Structural changes were limited primarily to the top (third) stage originally developed for sending its payloads to the Moon. For Vostok missions, a larger cylindrical adapter was fitted onto the stage to accommodate a manned spacecraft and its protective payload shroud. The new fairing had a big circular opening to enable Vostok pilots to eject from the cabin in case of an emergency on the launch pad or in the early phase of the launch.

The total launch mass of the 8K72 rocket with the Vostok spacecraft reached 287 tons. (52). The launch and first two stages of the orbital insertion would be similar to most vehicles based on the R-7 missile. The payload fairing the Vostok spacecraft would be split into two petals and dropped soon after the separation of the first stage.

Upon reaching the velocity necessary to insert the Vostok spacecraft into orbit, the flight control system would shut down the engine of the third stage and separate the stage from the spacecraft.

With the conclusion of manned Vostok missions in 1963, their launch vehicle continued flying for several decades with unmanned satellites, including Elektron and Meteor. (2) The general architecture of the vehicle was revealed to the general public only in 1967, when a full-scale mockup of the rocket was displayed at the Paris Air and Space Show in Le Bourget, France.

APPENDIX

Vostok rocket designations:

Vehicle name	Industrial name	US name
Vostok	8K72	A-1/SL-3

Known specifications of the Vostok rocket:

Number of stages	3
Total length	38.36 meters (2) 41 meters (466)
Maximum diameter with stabilizers	10.3 meters (2)
Total liftoff mass	287 tons (52) 290.515 tons (466)
Rocket dry mass	28.759 tons (466)
Stage I and II dry mass	23.560 tons (466)
Payload fairing mass	0.8 tons (466)
Payload fairing maximum diameter	2.7 meters (466)
Payload	4.73 tons (2); 4.8 tons (466); 5.02 tons* (466)
Stage I and II (combined) thrust	5,410.1 kH (466)
Stage I (Four boosters - Blocks B, V, G, D)	-
Length	19.8 meters (2)
Diameter	2.68 meters (2)
Stage I thrust	4,960.0 kH (466)
Stage II (Core stage/Block A)	-
Length	28.75 meters (2)
Diameter	2.95 meters (2)
Stage II thrust	976.7 kH (466)
Stage III (Block E)	-
Stage III dry mass	1.34 tons (466)
Stage III thrust	54.9 kH (466)

*For a circular 200-kilometer orbit with an inclination 51.8 degrees toward the Equator.

Vostok rocket variants:

Luna/Vostok	8K72	Luna probes, Vostok
Vostok	8K72K	Vostok
Vostok-2	8K72V	-
Vostok-2M	8K72V1	Elektron, Meteor
Vostok-2M	8K72V3	Elektron, Meteor
Vostok-2M	8K72D	Elektron, Meteor
Vostok-2M	8K72-2D	Elektron, Meteor
Vostok	8A92	Zenit-2
Vostok-M	8A92M	Tselina D, Meteor, IRS-1A, Intercosmos-Bulgaria
Vostok	8A92ME	Meteor, Tselina-D
Vostok	8A92V3	Zenit-2
Vostok	8A93	OD-2
Vostok	11A92	Zenit-2

Vostok rocket production team (466):

Responsibility	Organization	Location
Overall development	OKB-1	Podlipki (Kaliningrad)
Manufacturing Stage III, fairing, spacecraft	ZEM	Podlipki (Kaliningrad)
Manufacturing Stage I and II	Aviation plant No. 1	Kuibyshev (now Samara)

Story and images by Anatoly Zak; Last update: April 12, 2011

Page editor: Alain Chabot; Last edit: April 12, 2011

IMAGE ARCHIVE

Launch

The launch of the Vostok spacecraft. Credit: RKK Energia

A full-scale replica of the Vostok rocket and its erector. The display illustrates how low the rocket is positioned relative to the surface of the launch pad. Click to enlarge. Copyright © 2001 Anatoly Zak

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