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:

  • Luna 8K72 – used to launch the early Luna 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

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