Voskhod (rocket)

Voskhod (R-7 11A57)

Voskhod rocket
Function	Man-rated LEO carrier rocket
Manufacturer	OKB-1
Country of origin	Soviet Union
Size
Height	30.84 m (101.18 ft)
Diameter	2.99 m (9.8 ft)
Mass	298,400 kg (657,800 lb)
Stages	2
Capacity
Payload to LEO	5,900 kg (13,000 lb)
Associated rockets
Family	R-7
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	LC-1 & LC-31, Baikonur LC-41, Plesetsk
Total launches	300
Successes	287
Failures	13
First flight	16 November 1963
Last flight	29 June 1976
Notable payloads	Voskhod spacecraft Zenit
Boosters
No. boosters	4
Engines	1 RD-107-8D74K
Thrust	995.3 kN (223,752 lbf)
Specific impulse	257 sec
Burn time	119 seconds
Fuel	RP-1/LOX
First stage
Engines	1 RD-107-8D75K
Thrust	941 kN (221,500 lbf)
Specific impulse	248 sec
Burn time	301 seconds
Fuel	RP-1/LOX
Second stage
Engines	1 RD-0108
Thrust	294 kN (66,093 lbf)
Specific impulse	330 sec
Burn time	240 seconds
Fuel	RP-1/LOX

The Voskhod rocket (Russian: Восход, "ascent", "dawn") was a derivative of the Soviet R-7 ICBM designed for the human spaceflight programme but later used for launching Zenit reconnaissance satellites. It consisted of the Molniya 8K78M third stage minus the Blok L. In 1966, all R-7 variants were equipped with the uprated core stage and strap-ons of the Soyuz 11A511. The Blok I stage in the Voskhod booster used the RD-107 engine rather than the RD-110 in the Soyuz, which was more powerful and also man-rated. The sole exception to this were the two manned Voskhod launches, which had RD-108 engines, a man-rated RD-107 but with the same performance.

All 11A57s launched after 1965 were functionally an 11A511 without the Soyuz's payload shroud and launch escape system (with the exception of the third stage propulsion system as noted above). Around 300 were flown from Baikonur and Plesetsk through 1976 (various payloads, but Zenith PHOTINT satellites were the most common). The newer 11A511U core had been introduced in 1973, but the existing stock of 11A57s took another three years to use up.