Voskhod (rocket)


The Voskhod rocket was Soviet medium-lift launch vehicle, a derivative of the R-7, an ICBM. The Voskhod rocket was designed for the human spaceflight programme but later used for launching Zenit reconnaissance satellites. It was essentially an 8K78/8K78M minus the Blok L stage and spec-wise was a halfway between the two boosters, with the former's older, lower-spec engines and the latter's improved Blok I design. Its first flight was on 16 November 1963 when it successfully launched a Zenit satellite from LC-1/5 at Baikonur. Boosters used in the Voskhod program had a man-rated version of the RD-0107 engine; this version was known as the RD-0108.
Starting in 1966, the 11A57 adopted the standardized 11A511 core with the more powerful 8D74M first stage engines, however the Blok I stage continued using the RD-0107 engine rather than the RD-0110. Around 300 were flown from Baikonur and Plesetsk through 1976, almost all of them used to launch Zenit reconnaissance satellites.
The newer 11A511U core had been introduced in 1973, but the existing stock of 11A57s took another three years to use up.
The rocket had a streak of 86 consecutive successful launches between 11 September 1967 and 9 July 1970.