The Vostok-L ( Russian : Восток meaning "East" ), GRAU index 8K72 was a rocket used by the Soviet Union to conduct several early tests of the Vostok spacecraft .
13-572: It was derived from the Luna rocket, with a slightly enlarged second stage to accommodate the larger payload. and was a member of the Vostok family of rockets. Four launches were conducted between 15 May and 1 December 1960 from Baikonur LC-1/5 , three of which successfully reached orbit. The first flight, on 15 May 1960, carried the Korabl-Sputnik 1 spacecraft. The second launched on 28 July, however one of
26-618: A Luna 8K72 took place on 4 October 1959. The Luna 3 spacecraft took the first photographs of the far side of the Moon. The eighth flight of a Luna 8K72 (March 1960), which was to launch the Luna E-3 No.1 probe, ended 435 seconds after launch when the Blok E upper stage developed insufficient thrust, causing the Luna probe to reenter the atmosphere and burn up. The ninth flight of a Luna 8K72 (April 1960), which
39-625: The Vostok-K , which offered a greater payload capacity. Luna (rocket) The Luna 8K72 vehicles were carrier rockets used by the Soviet Union for nine space probe launch attempts in the Luna programme between 23 September 1958 and 16 April 1960. Like many other Soviet launchers of that era, the Luna 8K72 vehicles were derived from the R-7 Semyorka design, part of the R-7 (rocket family) , which
52-511: The Sun between the orbits of Earth and Mars. The fifth flight of a Luna 8K72 (18 June 1959), which was to launch the Luna E-1A No.1 probe, ended 153 seconds after launch due to a guidance malfunction of the Blok A core stage, leading to engine shutdown. Luna 2 was launched by a Luna 8K72 on 12 September 1959. It was the first spacecraft to impact the lunar surface. The final successful launch of
65-423: The booster engines exploded during launch, causing the booster to separate prematurely, 19 seconds after launch. The rocket broke up 30 seconds after liftoff, killing the two dogs that were aboard the spacecraft. The third flight successfully placed Korabl-Sputnik 2 into orbit on 19 August, whilst the fourth and final flight orbited Korabl-Sputnik 3 on 1 December. The Vostok-L was replaced by an uprated version,
78-519: The earlier Luna 3 mission. However, they carried higher-resolution cameras, and were intended to make closer flybys. Luna E-3 No.2 was launched at 16:07:41 UTC on 16 April 1960, atop a Luna 8K72 carrier rocket , flying from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome . The Blok-B strap-on booster reached only 75% thrust and broke away from the booster almost immediately at liftoff. The launch vehicle climbed to an altitude of about 200 meters before
91-414: The imbalanced thrust caused it to pitch over, the remaining strap-ons breaking off and scattering in random directions. Two of them plummeted to the ground while the third flew over the head of terrified spectators before impacting and exploding near the vehicle assembly building, shattering its windows. The core stage continued flying for some distance until crashing into a salt lake about two kilometers from
104-513: The rocket again disintegrated from vibration. The third flight of a Luna 8K72 (December 1958), which was to launch the Luna E-1 No.3 probe, ended 245 seconds after launch when the Blok A core stage shut down from loss of engine lubricant. The resonant vibration problem suffered by the 8K72 booster was the cause of a major argument between the Korolev and Glushko design bureaus. It was believed that
117-445: The vibrations developed as a consequence of adding the Blok E upper stage to the R-7, shifting its center of mass . The first probe launched by a Luna 8K72 to reach orbit was Luna 1 , launched on 2 January 1959, which was intended as a lunar impactor mission. Luna 1 instead passed within 5,995 kilometres (3,725 mi) of the Moon's surface 4 January 1959, and then went into orbit around
130-521: Was a Soviet spacecraft which was lost in a launch failure in 1960. It was a 279-kilogram (615 lb) Luna E-3 spacecraft, the second of two to be launched, both of which were lost in launch failures. It was intended to fly around the moon on a circumlunar trajectory in order to image the surface of the Moon , including the far side . The E-3 spacecraft were similar in design to the E-2A which had been used for
143-603: Was also the basis for the Vostok and modern Soyuz rocket . The 8K72 was the first R-7 variant explicitly designed as an carrier rocket and it incorporated a few features that became standard on all later R-7 carrier rockets including thicker tank walls to support the weight of upper stages and the AVD malfunction detection system, which would terminate engine thrust if the booster's operating parameters (engine performance, electrical power, or flight trajectory) deviated from normal. Luna 8K72
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#1732884463882156-460: Was launched nine times from Baikonur LC-1/5 : The first flight of a Luna 8K72 (September 1958), which was to launch the Luna E-1 No.1 probe, ended 92 seconds after launch when the rocket broke up from longitudinal ("pogo") oscillations, causing the strap-ons to separate from the vehicle, which then crashed downrange. The second flight of a Luna 8K72 (October 1958), which was to launch the Luna E-1 No.2 probe, ended 104 seconds after launch when
169-410: Was to launch the Luna E-3 No.2 probe, failed when the Blok G strap-on booster developed only 75% thrust at liftoff, breaking away from the launch vehicle, which then disintegrated, the strap-ons flying in random directions and exploding as they impacted the ground. The Blok A core stage then crashed into a salt lake. Luna E-3 No.2 Luna E-3 No.2 , sometimes identified by NASA as Luna 1960B ,
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