Vostok rocket

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.

The major versions of the rocket were:

• 8K72 - used to launch the prototype Vostok spacecraft
• 8K72K - a refined version of the above. This was the version actually used for human spaceflight
• 8A92 - used for launching Zenit spy satellites throughout the 1960s
• 8A92M - modified version for launching Meteor weather satellites into high orbits.

On March 18, 1980 a Vostok-2M rocket exploded on its launch pad at Plesetsk during a fueling operation, killing 48. An investigation into a similar -- but avoided -- accident revealed that the substitution of lead-based for tin-based solder in hydrogen peroxide filters had resulted in the breakdown of the H2O2 and the resulting explosion.

This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.