Vostok

8K72 Korabl

Mission Profile

The Vostok (8K72 Korabl) was the Soviet launch vehicle developed specifically to orbit the Vostok crewed spacecraft, derived from the R-7 ICBM with a modified third stage that became the defining R-7 orbital configuration. Standing 38.4 m tall with a 3 m diameter and a liftoff mass of 287 tonnes, it generated 3,990 kN of thrust and could deliver 4,730 kg to low Earth orbit. First flown in May 1960, the Vostok rocket made history by launching Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961 — the first human orbital spaceflight — and carried all six Vostok missions, cementing Soviet primacy in the Space Race.