The Vostok (Восток, translated as "East") was a type of spacecraft built by the Soviet Union's space program for human spaceflight. Ariane 5 lifts off with the Rosetta space probe on March 2, 2004. ... Human spaceflight is space exploration with a human crew, and possibly passengers (in contrast to dog-manned space missions, which are remotely-controlled or robotic space probes). ...

The craft consisted of a spherical descent module (mass 2.46 tonnes, diameter 2.3 meters), which housed the cosmonaut, instruments and escape system, and a conical instrument module (mass 2.27 tonnes, 2.25 m long, 2.43 m wide), which contained propellant and the engine system. On reentry, the cosmonaut would eject from the craft at about 7,000 m (23,000 ft) and descend via parachute, while the capsule would land separately. Image File history File links Vostok spacecraft diagram I created this diagram in Paint Shop Pro File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... U.S. Space Shuttle astronaut Bruce McCandless II using a manned maneuvering unit (MMU) outside the Challenger in 1984. ... U.S. Space Shuttle astronaut Bruce McCandless II using a manned maneuvering unit (MMU) outside the Challenger in 1984. ...

The Vostok spacecraft was originally designed for use both as a camera platform (for the Soviet Union's first spy satellite program, Zenit) and as a manned spacecraft. This dual-use design was crucial in gaining Communist Party support for the program. The basic Vostok design has remained in use for some forty years, gradually adapted for a range of other unmanned satellites. The descent module design was reused, in heavily-modified form, by the Voskhod programme. Zenit (Russian: Зени́т, Zenith) is a Soviet military spy satellite used in the 1950s. ... Dual-use is a term often used in politics and diplomacy to refer to technology which can be used for both peaceful and military aims, usually in regard to the proliferation of nuclear weapons. ... The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Russian: Коммунисти́ческая Па́ртия Сове́тского Сою́за = КПСС) was the name used by the successors of the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party from 1952 to 1991, but the wording Communist Party was present in the partys name since 1918 when the Bolsheviks became the All... A satellite is an object that orbits another object (known as its primary). ... The Voskhod programme (Восход, translated as Sunrise) was a Soviet human spaceflight project. ...

There were several models of the Vostok leading up to the manned version:

• Vostok 1K - prototype spacecraft. Used to test basic systems and prove the concept.
• Vostok 2K - photo-reconnaissance and signals intelligence spacecraft . Later named Zenit-2.
• Vostok 3K - Manned spacecraft.

Vostok spacecraft

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (680x753, 133 KB) en: Vostok spacecraft, scanned de: Wostok Raumkapsel, eigener Scan File links The following pages link to this file: Vostok spacecraft ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (680x753, 133 KB) en: Vostok spacecraft, scanned de: Wostok Raumkapsel, eigener Scan File links The following pages link to this file: Vostok spacecraft ...

Vostok 3KA spacecraft specifications

Reentry Module: Vostok SA. Also known as: Spuskaemiy apparat - 'Sharik' (sphere).

• Crew Size: 1
• Length: 2.3 m
• Diameter: 2.3 m
• Mass: 2,460 kg
• Heat Shield Mass: 837 kg
• Recovery equipment: 151 kg
• Parachute deploys at 2.5 km altitude
• Crew seat and provisions: 336 kg
• Crew ejects at 7 km altitude
• Ballistic reentry acceleration: 8 g (78 m/s²)

Equipment Module: Vostok PA. Also known as: Priborniy otsek.

• Length: 2.25 m
• Diameter: 2.43 m
• Mass: 2,270 kg
• Equipment in pressurized compartment
• RCS Propellants: Cold gas (nitrogen)
• RCS Propellants: 20 kg
• Main Engine (TDU): 397 kg
• Main Engine Thrust: 15.83 kN
• Main Engine Propellants: Nitrous oxide/amine
• Main Engine Propellants: 275 kg
• Main Engine Isp: 266 kgf·s/kg (2.61 kN·s/kg)
• Main Engine Burn Time: 1 minute (typical retro burn = 42 seconds)
• Spacecraft delta v: 155 m/s
• Electrical System: Batteries
• Electric System: 0.20 average kW
• Electric System: 24.0 kW·h

• Total Mass:4,730 kg
• Endurance: Supplies for 10 days in orbit
• Launch Vehicle: Vostok 8K72K
• Typical orbit: 177 km x 471 km, 64.9 inclinaton

See also

• Vostok 1
• Vostok rocket

Vostok 1 was the first manned space mission. ... The Vostok rocket (Russian Восток, translated as East) was a derivative of the Soviet R-7 ICBM designed for the human spaceflight programme but later used for other satellite launches. ...

External links

• Vostok Specifications