R-7 Semyorka

8K71

Mission Profile

The R-7 Semyorka (8K71) was a two-stage Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile in the R-7 family, the world's first ICBM and the progenitor of the most prolific rocket family in history. Standing 34.2 m tall with a 3 m core diameter and a liftoff mass of 280 tonnes, it generated 3,900 kN of liftoff thrust from its distinctive four-booster configuration. First flying in May 1957, the R-7 Semyorka launched Sputnik 1 (the first artificial satellite) in October 1957 and Yuri Gagarin (the first human in space) in April 1961, and its descendants continue to fly as the Soyuz family over six decades later.