Voskhod (rocket)

The Voskhod rocket (Russian: Восход, lit. 'ascent/dawn') was Soviet medium-lift launch vehicle, a derivative of the R-7, an ICBM. The Voskhod rocket was 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]

Voskhod (R-7 11A57)

Voskhod rocket
Function	Medium-lift launch vehicle
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	3
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass	5,900 kg (13,000 lb)
Associated rockets
Family	R-7
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Baikonur, Sites 1/5 & 31/6 Plesetsk, Site 41/1
Total launches	300
Success(es)	287
Failure	13
First flight	16 November 1963
Last flight	29 June 1976
Carries passengers or cargo	Voskhod spacecraft Zenit (satellite)
Boosters (First stage) – Block B, V, G & D[a]
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 s (2.52 km/s)
Burn time	119 seconds
Propellant	LOX / RP-1
Second stage (core) – Block A
Powered by	1 × RD-108
Maximum thrust	941 kN (212,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	248 s (2.43 km/s)
Burn time	301 seconds
Propellant	LOX / RP-1
Third stage – Block I[b]
Powered by	1 × RD-0107
Maximum thrust	294 kN (66,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	330 s (3.2 km/s)
Burn time	240 seconds
Propellant	LOX / RP-1

Interactive 3D model of the Voskhod rocket

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.

See also

• Voskhod programme

Notes

1. This is a transliteration of the second through fifth letters of the Cyrillic alphabet (Б, В, Г, Д). A sense-for-sense translation would correspond to the second through fifth letters of the Latin alphabet, 'Block B, C, D & E'.
2. This is a transliteration of the tenth letter of the Cyrillic alphabet (И), which also carries the numerical value 10 in Cyrillic numerals. A sense-for-sense translation would use a Roman numeral, 'Block X'.