Voskhod (spacecraft)

Voskhod

Voskhod 1 and 2 spacecraft
Manufacturer OKB-1
Designer Sergei Korolev
Country of origin Soviet Union
Operator OKB-1
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 cosmonauts, 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 Voskhod was superseded by the Soyuz spacecraft in 1967.

Design

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.[1] 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 air lock 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. A backup solid-fuel retrorocket was added to the top of the descent module. The original Vostok spacecraft only had one liquid fuel retrorocket. A backup was not needed since its supplies lasted for a 10-day flight, which would allow for reentry by orbital decay if the retrorocket failed.

This spacecraft was carried into orbit by the Voskhod rocket, also developed from the earlier Vostok rocket and ultimately derived from the R-7 ICBM.

Vostok 3KV (1964)

Also known as Voskhod. Adaptation of the Vostok spacecraft for three cosmonauts. This version flew twice, on 6 October 1964 unmanned (as Kosmos 47) and on 12 October 1964 manned as Voskhod 1.

Basic data

Reentry module

Equipment module

Auxiliary retrorocket module

Length: 0.6 m Maximum diameter: 0.3 m Total mass: 143 kg Propellant mass: 87 kg Thrust: 117.7 kN Propellant: solid Specific impulse: 224 s Delta v: 60 m/s

Voskhod 3KD (1965)

This version flew twice, on 22 February 1965 unmanned (as Kosmos 57) and on 18 March 1965 manned as the Voskhod 2 spacecraft.

Reentry Module

Reentry Module: Voskhod SA. Also known as: Spuskaemiy apparat - Sharik (sphere).

Equipment Module

Equipment Module: Voskhod PA. Also known as: Priborniy otsek.

Auxiliary Retrorocket Module

Auxiliary Retrorocket Module: Voskhod KDU. Also known as: Engine unit

General data

See also

References

  1. ↑ Siddiqi 2000, p. 423.
  2. ↑ Collins, Amy Kyra. "Globe Device - IMP (глобус)". The Panels of the Spacecraft "Vostok".

Bibliography

External links

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