The Voskhod rocket (Russian: Восход, "ascent", "dawn") was a derivative of the Soviet R-7 ICBM designed for the human spaceflight programme but later used for launching Zenit reconnaissance satellites.[1][2] It was essentially an 8K78/8K78M minus the Blok L stage and spec-wise was a halfway between the two boosters, with the former's older, lower-spec engines and the latter's improved Blok I design. Its first flight was on 16 November 1963 when it successfully launched a Zenit satellite from LC-1/5 at Baikonur. Boosters used in the Voskhod program had a man-rated version of the RD-0107 engine; this version was known as the RD-0108.[3]
Function | Crew-rated LEO carrier rocket |
---|---|
Manufacturer | OKB-1 |
Country of origin | Soviet Union |
Size | |
Height | 30.84 m (101.2 ft) |
Diameter | 2.99 m (9.8 ft) |
Mass | 298,400 kg (657,900 lb) |
Stages | 2 |
Capacity | |
Payload to LEO | |
Mass | 5,900 kg (13,000 lb) |
Associated rockets | |
Family | R-7 |
Launch history | |
Status | Retired |
Launch sites | Baikonur Site 1 and Site 31 Plesetsk, Site 41 |
Total launches | 300 |
Success(es) | 287 |
Failure(s) | 13 |
First flight | 16 November 1963 |
Last flight | 29 June 1976 |
Type of passengers/cargo | Voskhod spacecraft Zenit (satellite) |
Boosters | |
No. boosters | 4 |
Powered by | 1 RD-107 |
Maximum thrust | 995.4 kN (223,800 lbf) |
Total thrust | 3,981.6 kN (895,100 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 257 seconds (2.52 km/s) |
Burn time | 119 seconds |
Propellant | RP-1 / LOX |
First stage | |
Powered by | 1 RD-108 |
Maximum thrust | 941 kN (212,000 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 248 seconds (2.43 km/s) |
Burn time | 301 seconds |
Propellant | RP-1 / LOX |
Second stage | |
Powered by | 1 RD-0107 |
Maximum thrust | 294 kN (66,000 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 330 seconds (3.2 km/s) |
Burn time | 240 seconds |
Propellant | RP-1 / LOX |
Starting in 1966, the 11A57 adopted the standardized 11A511 core with the more powerful 8D74M first stage engines, however the Blok I stage continued using the RD-0107 engine rather than the RD-0110. Around 300 were flown from Baikonur and Plesetsk through 1976, almost all of them used to launch Zenit reconnaissance satellites (one exception was the Intercosmos 6 satellite in 1973).
The newer 11A511U core had been introduced in 1973, but the existing stock of 11A57s took another three years to use up.
The rocket had a streak of 86 consecutive successful launches between 11 September 1967 and 9 July 1970.
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