Voskhod (spacecraft)

Voskhod

Voskhod 1 and 2 spacecraft
Manufacturer	OKB-1
Designer	Sergei Korolev
Country of origin	Soviet Union
Operator	OKB-1 (Now RKK Energia)
Applications	Manned spaceflight
Specifications
Spacecraft type	Vostok-3KV Vostok-3KD
Crew capacity	2
Regime	Low Earth
Production
Status	Retired
Built	5+
Launched	5
Retired	5
First launch	1964
Last launch	1965
Related spacecraft
Derived from	Vostok
Derivatives	Bion

The Voskhod (Russian: Восход, "Sunrise") was a spacecraft built by the Soviet Union's space program for human spaceflight as part of the Voskhod programme. It was a development of and a follow-on to the Vostok spacecraft. Voskhod 1 was used for a three manned flight whereas Voskhod 2 had a crew of two. They consisted of a spherical descent module (diameter 2.3 meters), which housed the astronauts, and instruments, and a conical equipment module (mass 2.27 tonnes, 2.25 m long, 2.43 m wide), which contained propellant and the engine system. Voskhod was superseded by the Soyuz spacecraft in 1967.

The Voskhod spacecraft was, essentially, a Vostok spacecraft that had a backup solid fuel retro rocket added to the top of the descent module. The ejection seat was removed for more space and two or three crew couches were added to the interior at a 90-degree angle to that of the Vostok crew position. There was no provision for crew escape in the event of a launch or landing emergency.

Lack of space meant that the three crew members of Voskhod 1 did not wear space suits. Both crew members wore spacesuits on the Voskhod 2 mission, as it involved an EVA and used an inflatable airlock. This allowed cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov to exit and re-enter the craft. It was needed because the vehicle's electrical and environmental systems were air-cooled, and complete capsule depressurization would lead to overheating. The airlock weighed 250 kg, was 700 mm in diameter, 770 mm high when collapsed for launch. When extended in orbit, it was 2.5 m long, had an internal diameter of 1.0 m and an external diameter of 1.2 m. The second crew member wore a spacesuit as a precaution against accidental descent module depressurization. The airlock was jettisoned after use.

The lack of ejection seats meant that the Voskhod crew would return to Earth inside their spacecraft unlike the Vostok cosmonauts who ejected and parachuted down separately. Because of this, a new landing system was developed, which added a small solid-fuel rocket to the parachute lines. It fired as the descent module neared touchdown, providing a softer landing.